The Vision
by 1996isover
Summary: After the moon destroys most of Terra, Raphaëlle questions her sanity - due to her enemy surviving. Raphaëlle explores the ruinous planet, in search of an answer. Juno directs her along the way, much to the benefit of the participating Assassins.
1. PROLOGUE

**The ****Vi****sion**  
>an Abstergo Entertainment project<p>

by Robert Tober

**PROLOGUE**

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle enters, through an arched brick entrance, into a prison – with handcuffs attached to her arms. One guard is securely holding her arms, while four others—two to her left and two to her right—walk behind her. They take her down a long path. The walls and floors are all made of dark brick. They walk past eight prison cells – four on both sides. Nobody appears to be in them, but Raphaëlle, under a hallucination, envisions multiples of her demonic self with a blue glow – The Shadow's Aura. They all clench their claws around the bars, and whisper as The Shadow. She and the guard continue walking._

_**SHADOW001**_ _This_ is the darkness. A broiling place in the depths of hell, where only my voice pierces through the silence. Welcome to my garden of truth.

Raphaëlle – Shadow?

_The main guard hits her on the head._

Guard – There's nobody here! Shut your mouth!

_**SHADOW002 **_ To those that hear me: listen well. Your ancestry is not as foretold.

Raphaëlle – Not again!

_The main guard hits her on the head._

Guard – Quiet!

_**SHADOW003**_ Certainly, you have originated from the primates, but what happened before that is a different story altogether. Your literature speaks of dinosaurs as the beginning. True, animals were the first to roam this planet. Vile creatures that only exist _here_ in the core of your planet. Here, they live on. Never evolved into cute puppy dogs and the like.

Raphaëlle – What is happening to me?

_The main guard hits her on the head. Raphaëlle begins crying in a frightened tone. _

Guard – Lady, you utter one more goddamn word, and I will use my pistol to blow out your brains! Do you hear me? Are we clear?

Raphaëlle – Yes, sir!

Guard – Good! Now, then, here we are!

_He takes her handcuffs off, throws her into her cell, and seals the barred door shut._

2


	2. Assassins 1

_Shaun is stretching his arms and yawning inside the new location – a place he and Rebecca have transformed into an apartment. _

Shaun – Well, here we are! Our new home! Finally, I can kick back and relax, and boil an egg or two! Life here sure is grand! Oh, hey! Do you need a hand with that?

_The Initiate gives Shaun the giant box [they are] carrying. He finds a place on the floor to put it._

Shaun – That'll do for now, eh Rebecca?

_She walks in._

Rebecca – We had better get to work as quickly as possible. There's gotta be more to that Raphaëlle story! We need to find out what happens next. That Shadow character certainly sounded more and more familiar toward the end.

Shaun – Well, Abstergo made the project from their own internal resources.

Rebecca – Which is exactly why _you_ need to get into our Animus!

_She takes The Initiate to the room where the Animus is resting._

Rebecca – Get yourself comfortable. Rest your head, relax, and all will be fine. We'll be monitoring your journey with our computers – and whenever we need you, we'll pull you out to give you new information. All right?

_The Initiate lays down in the Animus. An arched glass screen emerges from one side, and connects to the other, to make a semi-circle shape. _

Rebecca – All right, you're in! Shaun will be transporting you to wherever is accessible at this time. Right, Shaun?

_Shaun walks over from the kitchen._

Shaun – Uh, just a second, everyone! Hang on! I have a hot cup of tea!

Rebecca – Tea? Now?

Shaun – What? I'm thirsty! It was a long drive up here!

Rebecca – Just hurry up!

Shaun – I'm hurrying! I'm hurrying!

_He opens his laptop._

Shaun – All right, are you all ready?

_Pause._

_Shaun sighs under an assumption of his irrelevance._

Shaun – Then, let's get to work.


	3. SEQUENCE I: The Aftermath

**SEQUENCE I: The Aftermath**

_A cutscene ensues._

_The adventure begins with the magnificent vistas of __**Deblana**__. Green pastures, bridges, mountains, buildings, and city roads, just to name a few. Here, in the capital city of __**Celtica**__ (the country), Raphaëlle rests. She is imprisoned. The camera tilts downward from the exterior of this prison, and travels inside – all the way to where she is. This pans inside her cell, and around to a third-person perspective. The player gets control._

Desolation had occurred to a grand extent. Terra no longer had the same appearance, since The Shadow acquired such a large amount of control over the planet. With its very being within the planet, The Shadow had harnessed Terra, and its subjugation to Lune. Being able to use a large enough fraction of her mind, Raphaëlle managed to assist the people in a war that was not under their control, and managed to save a good chunk of the planet. With her determination, and The Shadow's power in her hands, Terra's damage had mainly stayed on one hemisphere, with the extremity of that damage occurring in her city. Quite a bit of time passed since that day. Raphaëlle managed to find a new home. Her hemisphere no longer showed hope. Moreover, despite the amount of damage that had occurred, Terra still lived. In addition, the more she learned about the desolation, the more she learned about how humanity had thought of herself. Some people had thought of her as a hero. Others mistakenly claimed her to be the destructor. Not all of Celtica accepted her as a new resident in their country. She promised the disbelievers no harm, but they did not listen. The corrupt government wished her banishment for her apparent assault on the planet. However, a banishment would imply she would travel to her nest in The Underworld. The government, rather, sealed her away in an ancient prison, where none might find her. They had then claimed that she had perished; that she had died. Not everybody accepted this claim. Those that understood, and believed in her actions, desperately wished that she were still alive. She tried to escape, but to no avail. As much as she tried, _still _the hallucinated, demonic versions of herself watched her. They tried speaking to her, but Raphaëlle would try to ignore.

_**SHADOW001**_ Do you wish to escape, my dear Raphaëlle?

Raphaëlle – Shut up, Shadow.

_**SHADOW002**_ Let us help you.

Raphaëlle – Now is not a good time!

_**SHADOW003**_ Shall we cause some trouble for the guards?

Raphaëlle – No! Just go away! I don't want to talk to you!

_**SHADOW001**_ Then, don't say anything. _We'll_ do all the work.

Raphaëlle – Stay out of my head!

_**SHADOW003**_ No. Let us enter. Show us the desires you wish to see fulfilled. We shall do it for you.

Raphaëlle – No. No, I won't have this! Go! Go away!

_**SHADOW002**_ We know what you truly want. Grant us that access with your mind.

Raphaëlle – And what is it that I want?

_**SHADOW002**_ To escape this ancient prison.

Raphaëlle – Yes…

_**SHADOW001**_ To reveal yourself once again to the public, and protect Terra; not destroy it.

Raphaëlle – Yes.

_**SHADOW003**_ To invoke suffering to the people who think you a destructor.

Raphaëlle – Yes!

_**SHADOWALL**_ Then, Raphaëlle… Will you grant us access to do as you command?

_Raphaëlle takes a deep breath. _

Raphaëlle – With pleasure, Shadow.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_All of the cell doors, except for Raphaëlle's, open. The hallucinated, fractured demons escape, and merge as one. The doors lock behind them. They proceed to leave the prison, when the guard enters. He walks up to Raphaëlle to check up on her. However, before he can even utter a single word, the demonic being enters his body. He turns blue, and all his veins become visible. His eyes roll back – only appearing white. Under the command of Raphaëlle's mind, the guard unlocks her cell. The guard, having succumbed to shadow, continues to stand in her path, but she can walk through him. She starts walking up the hall to the exit. However, when she reaches the arch-shaped exit, the same blue colour keeps Raphaëlle imprisoned. The guard turns around to face Raphaëlle. He is still under the spell._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Shadow, let me pass.

_**SHADOWALL**_ If you assumed we would let this be so simple, you assumed wrong.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Qu'est-ce que tu veux? _(What do you want?)_

_**SHADOW002**_ We have power. You lack it.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Ton point? _(Your point?)_

_**SHADOW003**_ You will not survive very long on your own, sweet Raphaëlle. Not without our power.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Qu'est-ce que tu proposes? _(What do you propose?)_

_**SHADOW003**_ That you let us be free. Remain in this prison. You are no longer a demon – but we can let you be one in your mind.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Il n'y a pas une autre façon possible? _(There's no other possible way?)_

_**SHADOW001**_ This is your imprisonment. The mortals think you a destructor. Let them think whatever they want. _You_ can think whatever _you_ want. We shall fulfill it.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Pas tout le monde pense de moi en cette manière. _(__Not everyone thinks of me in that way.)_

_**SHADOW002**_ As we said, they will be _your _desires. This is only a chance to let _us_ be free. We cause no chaos because we do not exist. The mortals do not see us. Activate your demonic self again, Raphaëlle.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Je ne sais pas. _(I don't know.)_

_**SHADOWALL**_ In your mind.

_She takes a deep breath, and then returns to her cell. _

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Fine.

_**SHADOWALL**_ Excellent.

_The hallucinated Shadow kills the guard from within. It escapes his body, seals Raphaëlle's cell, and then leaves the prison. The player gets control. _

The status of Raphaëlle's mind, since the events of The Shadow's demise within Lune, had become quite thought provoking. As was made clear by the voices, only she could see the figures of herself as a demon. No one else. However, the question remained, was she hallucinating? Certainly, the prison guard had died by those blue-glowing, very bizarre demons – but did he really? Had this all been in her head? Raphaëlle did not know what to do, except let this new adventure begin. She wanted to see where all of this would head, and whether it would bring her somewhere safe and secure by the end. With the usage of **Concentration Energy**, the world around her suddenly twisted in sight. Everything seemed to have a highlight and glow of blue – even Raphaëlle herself. Nevertheless, once she realized this, and began moving around, the blue left her body, and went to the merged demon within her mind. She could see her demonic self. Then, she remembered: this invisible-to-others demon would be her safeguard. Any damage she so desired could be fulfilled. She took this opportunity to her advantage, and right many wrongs. Demonic Raphaëlle walked around the prison in search of a way out. She eventually made her way to the courtyard, whereby a couple more guards patrolled. As she looked around at her surroundings, it seemed as though the ancient prison had more to it. She rested within a decrepit, old castle. A place that once served its use many centuries ago. Nevertheless, she entered their bodies, when neither were paying attention, and killed them from within. She then continued exploring. Looking down from the ledge, she could see that the castle was at a much higher altitude than the city itself. However, the city was far away. Without too much dawdling, Raphaëlle walked around some more as her demonic self. Eventually, she found a tunnel. The path down was inoperable. A robotic voice spoke, _"ALERT: Tunnel repair imminent. Ceasing functions until all repairs can be made." _Raphaëlle looked up, and gazed at how far up, inside the castle, the tunnel went. She climbed along the bars, and travelled all the way up to the fourth floor. She entered a long hall, and followed the carpet to the end of the room, where a throne rested. Pillars stood at either side of her. The more she walked down the path, the more she could see that someone or _something_ sat in the throne.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Demonic Raphaëlle looks up at the tall skeleton king, who is sitting in his throne. Both of them glow blue. He stands up._

Cú Roí__– You've escaped your imprisonment, my dear. Yet you've come all the way here to see me. Why?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Who are you?

Cú Roí__– The name's Cú Roí. I was once king of Deblana, before I reached my own demise.

_He sighs._

Cú Roí__– And yet, somehow, I'm still here.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ We don't know what to say…

Cú Roí__– That does not matter. You can see me, and I can see you. I haven't had a conversation in millennia, if I were to be honest.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ What do you want from us?

Cú Roí__– Your kind has long disturbed me. I've lost many nights of sleep over your "_predicaments"_. Now it's time for _you_ to get some rest!

_SHADOWRAPH chuckles. She goes to enter the king's body, but he uses Concentration Energy of his own to turn temporarily invincible, and walk around the demon. When Raphaëlle realizes his frozen blue corpse is nothing more than a shell, his skeletal left hand grabs her by the throat. With his right hand, Cú Roí uses his peculiar sword to stab Raphaëlle through the neck, with the tip of the blade digging into the ground. At which point, her energy runs out, and her vision becomes normal. The skeleton king is no longer in sight, but he is there nonetheless. She opens her mouth, and lets a stream of blood gush out. Blood drips from her nose, as well as from her eye sockets. She knows the king is there, but not to her normal vision. As her sight begins to blur, and gradually fade away, she hears him speak into her ear. It is as if he is right next to her downward-angled face. _

Cú Roí__– You and I have something in common, my dear. It commanded me once, too.

_Pause._

Cú Roí__– The Shadow.

"_Shadow" echoes repeatedly inside her head, at an increased volume, until she is eventually succumbed to death._

_Blackout._

_A male demon sits on the throne in The Underworld. The one created for "the one who would listen". Next to him, on her knees, is a female demon. She rests her hands on his knees, and looks at him. He has his head down, and stares at her hands in thought. His thoughts release a single spoken whisper. _

Pontus – Shadow…

Gaia – Hmm? Did you say something, my love?

_Pontus blinks, and then looks up at Gaia._

Pontus – Oh.

_He gently smiles._

Pontus – No.

_He caresses her right cheek._

Pontus – Let's head over to the meeting.

_They get up. _

_Fade to black._

_In the City of the Underworld, an abundance of demons congregates below, from where Jariah't once stood and spoke. They are all chanting and rioting – each sharing their own opinion of Pontus and Gaia, and they all state it proudly. Despite waiting for the two demons to emerge from the rooftop exit, they are completely oblivious to when they do. Pontus and Gaia walk out holding hands. Pontus raises his hand with a smile; alerting them to quiet. None do. _

Pontus – Quiet, quiet! Let us begin!

_The demons continue to chatter. Pontus raises his voice._

Pontus – My friends, stop chatting! Please, be quiet!

_The demons continue to chatter. Pontus raises his voice._

Pontus – I said…

_He takes a deep breath, and then shouts at the top of his lungs; his voice echoes throughout the City._

Pontus – _QUIET!_

_The demons all go still, and stare at Pontus and Gaia. Pontus sighs in relief, and then lowers his hand._

Pontus – Thank you.

_He clears his throat._

Pontus – Now, by popular vote, we are your chosen new rulers. We have mourned the loss of Raphaëlle, but now it is time to move on. To those that have been living under a rock for the past week and a half, my name is Pontus…

_He points at Gaia._

Pontus – This is my mother, Gaia…

_She waves and smiles._

Pontus – And we are very much in love.

_A bit of chattering starts up._

Pontus – Now, now… Be quiet. As you are certainly aware, our world has crumbled. A huge portion of our planet is gone, and we are now able to look at outer space from way down here. Now, this may have brought about mass casualties, but it has also re-birthed many of us into our true potential – demons. This world was barren for millennia. Many legends stated that construction of this place was for _"the one who would listen"_. Raphaëlle was that person, but now she is gone – and she left us to start anew. I hope that my mother and I will be successful in that regard. We will try our best not to disappoint. This concludes our introductory meeting.

_The demons begin chatting again – but one voice, closer to the front, speaks louder above all._

Tjiurno – This meeting was pointless! It consisted of things we already knew!

_People around him agree. Pontus goes on one knee, and looks down at him._

Pontus – I'm sorry, what is your name?

Tjiurno – It's Tjiurno, sir.

Pontus – Tjiurno… Well, what would you expect us to discuss?

Tjiurno – I don't know! Your goals and plans?

_He shakes his head and hands to imply how that is common sense. _

Pontus – My boy, you'll find out as we go along. For now, it is best you just…

_He shakes his hand in an outward manner._

Pontus – …Head home.

_He looks at Tjiurno with a smile on his face, and watches him leave. Once Tjiurno has walked away, he gets off his knee, and turns around to face Gaia, who gently places her arms around his neck. They kiss._

Pontus – I love you, mom.

Gaia – Love you more!

_She bites his nose. He bleeds a little. They giggle. She licks the blood off his nose. They kiss some more._

_Fade to black._

_The player gets control._

_ "Vital Restoration activated"_, a voice spoke. As Raphaëlle regained her vision, her demonic self was back. One she realized her status, she quickly ran through Cú Roí's body, and over to the window. She jumped out the window. Cú Roí chased after her. Raphaëlle found a path of trees on the other side of the throne room. She hopped, from branch to branch, to exit the castle grounds. Upon reaching the last tree, and had crossed the barrier surrounding the castle, she jumped off the final branch. She ran down the hill. Cú Roí was fast, so she had to be faster. Eventually, the two of them had reached an urbanized portion of the city. People roamed all around, and tall buildings surrounded them. Raphaëlle was quick to find a place for which to hide. The people of Deblana were oblivious to the chase. From their perspectives, they only felt a slight breeze from their passing by. The people did not see the two demons. Everything seemed normal to them. Raphaëlle had come across an alleyway. She went through. As she had reached the middle of the path, the demon girl received an alert. _"Health fully restored." _She looked around for Cú Roí, but no one appeared. He either had given up, or was searching in the wrong place. Raphaëlle, with a moment of relief, leaned against one of the buildings. She slid her back down the wall, until she was sitting on the concrete. She looked at her surroundings once more. She decided to get familiar with the new place. The place that became her new home. To her right, she could see the ancient, decrepit castle. To her left, she saw a tall, green mountain. Celtica was a mountainous country. The one she saw to her left was the closest one. She was intrigued to give it a visit. She stood up, and began exploring Celtica. She was free, but not free of The Shadow. Rather, a new beginning with the demon within.

Raphaëlle escaped the alleyway. The city had become her playground, but there was no sense of realism for her. She did not exist to the people. Most of them had already moved on, and regretfully accepted her falsely claimed fate. Despite this, those that wished her to be alive could not see her. She stood in front of the people, but they only passed her by. Nevertheless, she embarked for the mountain. As she departed from the city, clouds began to fill the sky. As they all congregated and connected, the world grew darker. A loud thunder crackled all over the city. Large raindrops began falling from the sky. Raphaëlle quickly ran through the hills, and hopped on the tree branches. She began climbing the mountain, while the heavy rain continued to pour. The mountain was tall and steep. She started hearing pellets bounce. She gazed up, and received many pellets of hail from the sky. She expected them to melt on her cheeks, but they went through her. The excitement made her forget she was non-existent. This was all The Shadow's doing. The Shadow used her sanity, but she did not know for what. When they last truly met on Lune, their relationship was not good. Raphaëlle would let The Shadow continue to do as it pleased with her body, but she was prepared for anything drastic and awful; anything that would ultimately harm her again. As she finished thinking and regretting the past, Raphaëlle arrived at the slippery, grassy summit.

The rain poured harder. Raphaëlle stood in the rain a while. She wanted to feel the droplets touch her body, since she had dearly loved rain – but she could not feel anything. The rain did nothing to her, and neither did the hail. She began walking around, in search of a place to go next. _"__**Demon Vision**__ online." _An alert told Raphaëlle of a new feature to her status. She saw differently than the normal person, because of The Shadow's capabilities. Demon Vision would allow her to see enemies and hidden locations with a highlight. Red indicated an enemy or monster was nearby, which she could see through walls and such; gold indicated an ultimate target that she needed to take care of; blue indicated a hidden location. Raphaëlle found something glow blue in the grass. She walked up to it, but with Demon Vision disabled. She did not see it anymore. She enabled it, and stood directly atop the blue. Four bolts of lightning descended from the dark clouds, and hit the mountain. In all four compass directions, the electricity flashed. It surrounded Raphaëlle. Suddenly, the ground beneath her began to carve itself a square. She fell through, and landed on a tunnel platform. _"New passage discovered." _She stood up after a while, and looked around her. Sol began to peek through the clouds. The dark realm above started to separate. The blue sky gradually returned. Did someone create that thunderstorm? Raphaëlle was confused. She looked around, from within the tunnel. A lever stood along the wall. She pulled it, with The Shadow's help. A thrust suddenly descended her somewhere within the center of the mountain. _**Deblana West / Pyro Hall / The Underworld**_ became a new destination path for her. Through it, she would have quick passage to the world at the core of the destroyed planet. She would soon return to the world meant for her. It appeared as though The Shadow was taking her back. However, before she would reach the ultimate destination, the tunnel gradually decreased in speed, and stopped at a location between the summit and the world below. Raphaëlle slowly walked out, unsure of what might sprawl out at her.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_She enters some sort of hall. The place looks similar to the City of the Underworld in design. The place looks so futuristic, yet had been quite ancient. Four walls connect at the center of the hall. She rubs her hands along the walls, as she walks to the other side. Unexpectedly, she touches a button, and the four walls suddenly slide into the ground. A young woman lays flat on the ground. Her eyes are closed; her head faces the ceiling; her long, black hair rests beautifully, and all the way to her mid-torso; her legs rest straight and proper; her arms cross her torso, and cover her naked breasts. Raphaëlle assumes her dead. Raphaëlle crouches, and, despite not being able to touch anything, rubs the girl's left arm. Her eyes slowly awake. The girl begins to twitch and shiver. Surprised, Raphaëlle jumps up, and stares at the girl. Her eyes lack pupils. They are completely white, and blood slowly pours out of them. She wipes her eyes, and stands up. She and Raphaëlle are the same height. They have the same features and characteristics. Almost like twins. _

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Est-ce que tu me vois? _(Do you see me?)_

_Pause._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Allo? Mademoiselle? _(Hello? Miss?)_

_Pause._

_Back at the prison, where the real Raphaëlle is, her body flashes. Returning to the hall, The Shadow escapes the demon girl. Raphaëlle is normal. Her __**Kushiro Blade**__ is in her right hand. _

Raphaëlle – Alors, est-ce que tu me vois? _(Well then, do you see me?)_

Flann – Oui, je te vois. _(Yes, I see you.)_

_Raphaëlle startles._

Raphaëlle – Oh! Donc, tu es une Médit! _(Oh! So, you're Médit!)_

Flann – Non, je suis d'ici, mais nous pouvons tous parler ta langue. Je m'appelle Flann. _(No, I'm from here, but we can all speak your language. My name is Flann.)_

Raphaëlle – Tous? _(All?)_

Flann – Tu vas voir, Raphaëlle. _(You will see, Raphaëlle.)_

Raphaëlle – Je veux savoir maintenant! _(I want to know now!)_

Flann – Non. _(No.)_

Raphaëlle – Alors, qu'est-ce qu'a passé avec toi? _(So, what happened to you?)_

Flann – J'attendais. _(I was waiting.)_

Raphaëlle – Pour qui? _(For whom?)_

_Flann sighs, and then shouts._

Flann – Toi! _(You!) _

Raphaëlle – Okay! Tu ne dois pas crier! _(You don't need to shout!)_

Flann – Désolé. _(Sorry.)_

_Flann, who is already quite close to Raphaëlle, gets even closer with a hug. Her thin, naked body squeezes Raphaëlle tight. She digs her claws into Raphaëlle's back flesh, while biting deep into her neck. Raphaëlle hugs her tight, and endures the pain. Flann bleeds from her eyes, and down Raphaëlle's spine._

Raphaëlle – Qu'est-ce que tu fais? _(What are you doing?)_

Flann – Libère-moi. _(Free me.)_

Raphaëlle – De quoi? _(From what?)_

Flann – L'Ombre! Sa voix me parle toujours! Quand je me repose; en sommeil, sa voix pénètre mon crâne! _(The Shadow! Its voice always speak to me! When I rest; asleep, its voice penetrates my skull!)_

Raphaëlle – Qu'est-ce qu'il veut? _(What does it want?)_

Flann – Nous devons tous t'aider. _(We all have to help you.)_

Raphaëlle – Avec quoi? _(With what?)_

Flann – Je ne sais pas. L'Ombre à besoin de ton aide pour quelque chose – et la seule façon dont il puisse atteindre ses objectifs sont à travers nous. L'Ombre ne réside pas dans l'un de nous en ce moment. Prendre ta Kushiro Blade et tue-moi. Sauve-moi de cette torture, Raphaëlle!

Flann – _(I do not know. The Shadow __needs your__help with something__ – a__nd the only way__it can achieve its__goals__is__through us.__The Shadow__does not live in either of us__right now.__Take__your__Kushiro__Blade,__and__kill me.__Save me from__this torture,__Raphaëlle__!)_

Raphaëlle – Et les autres? _(And the others?)_

Flann – Tu vas les trouver. _(You will find them.)_

_With Raphaëlle's blood filling her mouth, Flann bites Raphaëlle. Flann takes out her long, bloody tongue, and licks Raphaëlle's neck. She scratches Raphaëlle's back, and makes her bleed. Flann whispers in Raphaëlle's ear. _

Flann – They think you dead.

Raphaëlle – Who?

Flann – Your successors. Your army.

_Both of them could feel a surge of energy begin to flow through them. The Shadow would regain its power any second. Flann bites Raphaëlle's ear hard, and hugs her tight. Flann grips and squeezes Raphaëlle's buttocks hard._

Flann – Kill me now!

_Player interaction ensues. Raphaëlle slowly raises her Kushiro Blade, and pierces Flann's neck. The cutscene resumes. She rubs all of the blood on Raphaëlle's buttocks, and whispers her thanks into the ear of her saviour. Flann's bloody handprints paints Raphaëlle's hips and thighs as she slides down onto the ground. Raphaëlle crouches, and plucks her blade out from Flann's neck. Raphaëlle begins to glow red. Back at the prison, her body stops flashing. She returns to her dormant phase. While in the ancient Shadow hall—the Pyro Hall—her body regains the demon's control. Her world becomes a hue of blue again, and she becomes invisible. As she walks back to the tunnel, Raphaëlle's body transforms into an anthropological fire dragon. "__**Kasan Suit**__ online."_

Raphaëlle pulled the lever. She descended the mountain on a path to The Underworld. As the platform continued to lower, thoughts provoked her mind. She questioned her sanity. She questioned The Shadow and its motives. Was the demon within truly helping her, or hindering her from something? Nevertheless, Raphaëlle possessed a new power. Thanks to Flann, she managed to reveal a bit of the truth to Raphaëlle. It gave her this decision to question herself and the world around her. She also had no idea what was happening to her. The real Raphaëlle remained imprisoned. She only expected release for moments such as these. The Shadow was unaware of the malfunctions to her mental status. It assumed that she had experienced neural transmission failures. When in reality, Flann overtook Raphaëlle's mind and body, and brought her to the Pyro Hall. Although she had bizarrely been nude, she rung some sense to Raphaëlle. In a similar feature, it seemed odd that the two appeared almost as twins. This made her question whether the people she would meet were real, or creations. With enough pondering, plenty of time had passed. Blue-glowing Raphaëlle was leaving the mantle of the planet. She received a notification as they approached the core of Terra. _"ALERT: Extreme temperature increase imminent." _Another notification followed right after. _"ALERT: Gravity alteration imminent." _

The tunnel began to flash red, once Raphaëlle had reached the outer core. Her entire body suddenly hovered in mid-air, and flipped. What was once a ceiling became ground. The closer she approached the destination, the more obvious the increase in heat became. Steam began to infest the tunnel. Moments later, the tunnel slowed down, and arrived beneath the river – the river of lava and blood. Raphaëlle walked around. A thin pane of steel-plated molten rock created a barrier between the river itself, and a walkable path beneath. This was a secret path, which led up to the throne. Raphaëlle followed the path over to the staircase at the end of the river. Once she reached the top, high above the river, a wall stood before her. She used Demon Vision to search for the switch. Once she had pressed it, the wall slid horizontally to the left. The throne sat in front of her, in the direction of the river. As did the illuminated bridge and city. She walked around the right side, and then sat in the ruling chair. As she looked at her surroundings, she realized the river had begun to bubble and boil. Others might have simply seen this earthly grumble as just an event – but Raphaëlle, with her vision, could see the true cause of the river's sudden awakening. A blue-glowing humanoid beast, made of The Shadow's preferred material, rose from the river. The monster stood very tall. It towered over Raphaëlle. She took a closer look at its head. The big, hulking monster had two faces. Its head spun around to a face more friendly. The monster stared at the demon girl. She had seen it before – Flann. The beast raised its arms. Fire arose from its hands. A trio of snakes wrapped themselves around the monster's body. Raphaëlle used her Demon Vision to get a better look and idea of what to do.

_**SHADOWFLANN  
><strong>__Subject is a monstrous demon, created by The Shadow, within Flann's dreams. Under the visionary's powers, the subject is capable of producing mass amounts of flames from both its claws and mouth. Under the face of the demon, the subject is capable of producing the vile creatures that have haunted Flann in her sleep. Vulnerability to ice and water is clear. However, under the current circumstances, this would be impossible. An alternate route would be preferable. The subject's limbs appear most vulnerable. Proceed with caution._

Understanding her situation, Raphaëlle needed to think quickly, as to how she might progress. She stood up, and stared at the towering beast. From its hands and mouth, the monster blasted fire at her. Her first instinct was to dive underwater, and pay a visit to its submerged legs. Though its fur had been soft, the beast's intentions were not. Fire would do nothing under the river. Instead, she used her Kushiro Blade to weaken the monster. As she began cutting its left leg, blood began to seep out. Raphaëlle dug her sword into its leg, which began to twitch. The monster quickly shoved its right claw under the river, and blasted fire in her direction. Raphaëlle quickly got out of the way, whereby the flames had weakened the monster's own leg even further. It began to dangle on the last of its bones. Raphaëlle thrust her sword hard against its ankle. The monster fell on one knee. Raphaëlle swam up, since she was running low on energy – and could not stay submerged for long. SHADOWFLANN attacked Raphaëlle with a blast of fire. She absorbed the fire with her Kasan Suit, and preserved it for a later time. Before a second blast would attack her, Raphaëlle regained her energy, and swiftly swam to the other leg. She avoided the hit, and slashed away at the monster's leg. Once the blood began to pour from the crevice, she enflamed its internal structure. A few more slashes, and the monster fell on both knees.

The monster's head spun around and around, until it crashed into the river. A swarm of various demonic, twisted insects emerged: wasps, mosquitoes, fleas, beetles, dragonflies, and many others. Since they possessed the strength of fire and heat, a dip in the river would not harm them. The insects flew toward Raphaëlle, in an attempt to infest her vision and progression. She did her best to attack and kill. Once all were murdered, an explosion arose from the throat – from the carcass of the monster. It hit its neck on the edge of the platform, on which the throne rested. A large monster crawled out, and walked around on the ruling platform. It shrieked rather loudly. Raphaëlle walked up the giant's back to get onto the steel-plated molten rock. The creature, which seemed to have many different characteristics, charged toward her. _"__**Wings**__ online." _Raphaëlle soared above its horn—that of a Hercules beetle—and performed a spin attack with her Kushiro Blade as she landed. She shattered its bat Wings. However, once her feet hit the ground, and she spun around to attack again, she did not see the creature. She could not identify it. She sliced and slashed her blade around to find it. The chameleon blending then disabled. Raphaëlle continued to attack until the creature fell flat on the ground. A rupture from the river rose up, and forged the monster and creature to molten rock. They became one with the earth. Raphaëlle gazed at her surroundings. She desired to see what would await her in the city. With her Wings activated, Raphaëlle could finally fly. She soared beyond the illuminated bridge, and landed on the first street of the city. The twin bell towers, near where Jariah't once stood, were ringing. Following the advice given by Flann, Raphaëlle remained hidden from the demons that roamed. She climbed up onto the rooftops, and stealthily made her way to the towers. However, as she hopped from tree to tree, and remained out of the demons' sights, she eventually realized that no one could see her anyway.

There had been a congregation of demons near the towers. They chattered away. Unbeknownst to her, another meeting would soon commence. Passing through the crowd, who would not see her anyway, Raphaëlle reached the towers. She made her way to the leftmost tower, and began climbing up. Upon reaching the bell chamber, she switched on Demon Vision to look at her surroundings from such a grand altitude. All of the demons, as well as the ones above her, glowed a brighter, stronger blue. Strangely, however, within the bell chamber, some blue glowed. Raphaëlle tried her best to get the bell to stop ringing. To the others, it seemed bizarre at the sudden drastic change from the bell chamber. Raphaëlle pushed a button along the wall. At ground level, a fissure emerged, in the shape of a semi-circle. The demons below had been surprised. They took a few steps back. Raphaëlle gazed at the other bell chamber from her location. She did not see any blue, but she decided to check regardless. Using her Wings, she flew across. Once the bell had slowed down, and eventually stopped ringing, she looked around for blue. She found it glowing against the wall she entered. She rubbed her hand along the wall until she pressed the indented button. Upon doing so, another semi-circle fissure created, bringing about a circumferential fissure along the ground. This sudden change in nature startled the people. The ground began to shake. Raphaëlle climbed down the side of the tower. When she stood within the circle, the ground beneath her crumbled. The demons again were made frightened by the ghostly destruction to their earth. She stood on a lower piece of ground. A lever was in front of her. _"New passage discovered." _Raphaëlle pulled the lever, and travelled back to Celtica via the new tunnel. _**Séain, Celtica / The Underworld**_ was the tunnel she travelled. Meanwhile, the meeting began in The Underworld. Pontus and Gaia were prepared to start.

_A cutscene ensues._

_To those too distant from the towers, the end of the ringing bells solely indicated the beginning of the meeting. However, to those at the front, they understood it as a haunted assault. They are the ones who continue to chatter. Pontus and Gaia both raise their arms, and ask for their attention. After a while, all goes silent. They thank them, and then lower their arms._

Gaia – Not too long ago, we introduced ourselves to all of you, and recapped the occurrences of what had happened to our home.

Pontus – Today, we will be discussing our first order.

_The crowd begins to chant. The two leading demons raise their arms._

Pontus – Now, now. Let us not get too ahead of ourselves. We must focus on the task.

Gaia – We have been under attack.

Pontus – Our home – assaulted.

Gaia – We know not who or what the attacker is…

Pontus – …But we know we need to deal with it, and take care of it.

Gaia – As such, we ask you to prepare. Return to your demon military grounds, and perform necessary regiments for when we bring this attacker into the light.

Pontus – Be prepared for anything, my demons.

Gaia – Thank you for listening. Meeting adjourned.

_As the crowd of demons begin to chatter up again, Pontus and Gaia stare at each other from each their tower rooftop. They smile in their loving way, with the occasional gander down at the decreasing congregation. Once all is silent, Pontus moves his head to motion to fly down to ground level. They descend together, and land. Pontus takes Gaia's hand as they look at the commotion the invisible Raphaëlle had created. From one of his pouches, Pontus takes out an Apple of Eden, and points it all over the twin bell towers, and along the ground in-between. Using the Apple, he finds out who the attacker is._

Pontus – Raphaëlle, you slippery little runt.

_Blackout._

_Fade from black._

"_ALERT: Extreme temperature decrease imminent." Another notification follows right after. "ALERT: Gravity alteration imminent." Raphaëlle rotates back around. She travels far upward. After enough time passes, she arrives at a new location. A snow valley, known as __**Séain**__. Raphaëlle walks out, and sees the beautiful, frigid vistas. After detailing all of the hills and distant ruins, the player gets control._

Gazing at her surroundings, Raphaëlle found herself in a new region of Celtica. As she looked around, she could see all of the snow that blanketed the hills. Before embarking on a journey, she paused. She saw a river far in the east, and Deblana skyscrapers to the south. She was quite far from where she started. Taking a few steps forward, Raphaëlle realized her footsteps had travelled deeper. Though the world ahead seemed quite flat, it appeared that the tunnel to Séain brought her atop a mountain. The snow was impeccably high. Upon using her Kasan Suit, Raphaëlle could see her true path, since she had defrosted a great amount of snow. The water quickly froze over. The trip down the mountain became a slippery one. Raphaëlle was very careful with each step she took. She walked at an angle to avoid falling. However, as she made her way down, and occasionally extended her path with fire, thoughts infested her mind. She could not help but think about the transformation in The Underworld. The demons' new rulers, whoever they were, had seen the world differently than Raphaëlle had. In comparison to them, she appeared as a mere child to her successors. The Shadow had a vision for the future, and Raphaëlle would obey – for as long as she did. The new leaders seemed to possess their own vision; they did not require The Shadow to command. Nevertheless, it had been unclear as to whether her successors even knew about the demonic entity from Lune. Raphaëlle continued to think about them, and of what they might do throughout the duration of their reign. As the distraction of wonder continued to infest her mind, she slipped on the ice. Her right foot slid faster than normal. She fell back, hurting her back slightly, and slid down the mountain to the base. Once she arrived, she found herself under a blanketed fort. Ruins left behind under the creation of The Shadow. The entity designed the walls and structures. Monsters roamed this place. With the power of fire and a strong blade, those that stood in her way were easily defeated. Raphaëlle walked around.

Viewing the new location, Raphaëlle searched for a way to proceed. She found two exits – one red, and one white. Upon walking to the white exit, a notification appeared. _"Specific suit required."_ Utilizing the Kasan Suit on the red exit would grant access to a cavern. Stalactites hung from the ceiling. Puddles of ice rested along the ground. Raphaëlle avoided them, and proceeded beyond. However, what rested beyond was another white exit. Raphaëlle tried Demon Vision, whereby she found a lever within the cavern. She pulled it. The cavern elevated. A wall stood in the direction of the white exit below. However, back in the other direction was a red exit. After using her Kasan Suit, Raphaëlle walked through. She found herself within a giant, cylindrical, barren hall. Nothing rested in the room but a ceiling switch, which dangled far, far above. Aside from that, three exits could be identified – a red one behind her, a white one across the room, and a red one much further up. Raphaëlle used her Wings to fly up to the switch, whereby she pulled it down. Ice water suddenly began to rise, and filled three quarters of the room. It immediately froze over completely. Coincidentally, the ice froze perfectly for Raphaëlle to continue to the proceeding room. Roaming around along the floor of the room were a trio of creatures. Ice water completely filled the room. It, however, was not frozen. Raphaëlle descended into the water. The creatures seemed to have the characteristics of both an anglerfish and a hyena. The Shadow concocted many of these mixed, transformed creatures. Using her Kushiro Blade, Raphaëlle obliterated their guts across the floor of the room. She swam to yet another cavern. After finding a lack of way to continue, Raphaëlle tried Demon Vision again. Another lever. She pulled it, and the entire cavern submerged underwater. She swam through, avoiding jellyfish and other aquatic creatures, until she reached the end of the cave, which lacked water. Raphaëlle used her Kasan Suit, and went through.

A golem stood at the center of a different giant, cylindrical hall. Frozen chains attached to its wrists and ankles. In addition, a white exit rested at the other side of the hall. This made her feel as though she explored just about everywhere she could in Séain so far. However, the golem attracted her curiosity. She wondered what might happen if it were to be freed. She used her Kasan Suit on the frozen chains. With a mighty slash, its left ankle was free. She tried again to the right ankle. She was successful. After disconnecting the chains from its wrists, the golem lit up. It began to glow a yellow-green, and then took a few steps back. It then sat down against the wall, which revealed an underground passage where its large feet were. The golem returned to its inactivate state. Raphaëlle travelled down. She found an underground stream of ice water, which would lead to the river. She followed it, and passed by the scurrying rats, crawling insects, and slithering snakes. The stream became a labyrinth. The water flowed in many different paths. Some led nowhere; others led to things that would not benefit her for the time being. Raphaëlle followed the accessible path. A red exit awaited her. Upon travelling through, she arrived at the river. As she looked down, she reminded herself of her status. She did not see a reflection in the water. She was not there. However, she saw a rail system deep beneath, and a platform quite close to her. She tried stepping into the water, and reaching the platform, but the ground would rumble. The more it rumbled, the more it frightened her. A large monster rose up. Four tentacles, each oozing ink, swung around. This demon was ready to stop Raphaëlle.

_**SHADOWJILLEEN  
><strong>__Subject is a monstrous demon, created by The Shadow, within Jilleen's dreams. The visionary's demonic self makes the subject capable of producing ice blasts, which can be very harmful if not avoided. The monster itself makes the subject capable of utilizing its tentacles to perform strength attacks and adhesive attacks. Due to its frigid internal temperature, the subject establishes a clear vulnerability to heat. Proceed with caution._

The monster followed Raphaëlle's movements. When it had enclosed her in a confined spot, a tentacle came slamming down to attack. Raphaëlle dodged. The tentacle curved, and grabbed her. The monster's adhesive ink kept her within. It lifted her into the air, and then slammed her back down. Raphaëlle was quick to use her fiery Kasan powers on the tentacle. It shattered in half. Another tentacle came swooping down. Raphaëlle immediately took care of it. With two remaining, the monster rose higher, which revealed its true height. The demon strengthened its tentacles with ice, and then blasted large shards of ice at Raphaëlle. Quickly and swiftly dodging with her Wings, Raphaëlle soared into mid-air. A tentacle went to attack. She avoided it, but the other tentacle quickly grabbed her, and slammed her against the shore. Again, she flew. Instead of attacking the ink-filled tentacles, she dodged the blasts of ice from the monster's mouth, and attacked its head. The demon took a step forward, and then fell on one knee. During such a brief moment, Raphaëlle chopped off a tentacle. The remaining one quickly snatched her. The monster raised its submerged arms, and blasted fire at Raphaëlle with its right hand. She plunged into the river. The monster then thrust his left fist down to punch her. She immediately scurried out of the way. Raphaëlle climbed up the monster's arm, and attacked furiously with her Kasan Suit to inflict intense flaming damage to the demon's head. The final tentacle slammed down in Raphaëlle's direction. She dodged by jumping all the way down onto the shore. The tentacle tried the same tactic again, but with more ink spewing. Raphaëlle breathed fire, and slashed off the last tentacle – after dodging the ink. The monster immediately blasted multiple shards of ice at Raphaëlle from its mouth. She either dodged them or destroyed them. The monster's fist slammed down. She avoided it at the last moment.

Emerging, in place of the tentacles, were four reversely faced cobras. Raphaëlle decided to take care of the monster's head nonetheless. She flew back up onto SHADOWJILLEEN's neck, and slashed away at its skull – all while avoiding blasts of ice. Whenever a snake drew nearer, she severed it in half. With enough force, Raphaëlle disabled the visionary's ability of ice at the neck of the monster. Its body suddenly turned gray. The monster fell on both knees, with its claws gripping the shore. Raphaëlle severed the remaining snakes in half. SHADOWJILLEEN's head then spun around and around until it disconnected, and rolled on the shore. Four cobra heads sprouted out, and merged as one. Raphaëlle enflamed the cobra with her Kasan Suit, while severing the merged head. The monster and snake slid into the river. The water began to drain a bit, while the monster's carcass formed a staircase. With peace at the river, Raphaëlle continued onward. _"New passage discovered."_ Stepping forth into the shallow water, the demon girl walked along the track to the platform. A lever awaited her as she stepped on. After pulling it, the platform activated, and sent Raphaëlle on a trip to her next destination. With _**Séain River / Cryo Hall / Golem Chamber / The Underworld**_unlocked, Raphaëlle embarked on an adventure to meet the haunted girl of ice.The rail transportation system travelled at a much faster rate than any tunnel she had previously used. Raphaëlle rode the platform over to the Cryo Hall – the only intact portion of the ruins. The platform slowed down as they reached the destination. Raphaëlle stepped off, and searched for the wall switch with Demon Vision. Upon pressing it, and the walls slid into the ground, Raphaëlle encountered a different situation than with Flann.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_The center walls begin descending into the ground. Once they reach a low enough descent, Raphaëlle notices the girl is awake. She sits there. Her chin rests on her knees, with her arms wrapped around her legs. Blood, from her eyes, drips down. She is in a sweat. For a moment, she daydreams. Back at the prison, where the real Raphaëlle is, her body flashes. Returning to the hall, The Shadow escapes the demon girl. Raphaëlle is normal. Once she crouches down. The girl gets startled, and slides a little bit away. When she realizes that the person she sees is Raphaëlle, she stands up. Raphaëlle stands up, too. _

Jilleen – Merci. _(Thank you.)_

Raphaëlle – Pourquoi? _(For what?)_

Jilleen – Tu m'as sauvé de mon cauchemar! _(You saved me from my nightmare!)_

Raphaëlle – Avec L'Ombre? _(With The Shadow?)_

Jilleen – Oui. _(Yes.)_

Raphaëlle – Est-il encore là-dedans toi?_(Is it still there inside you?)_

Jilleen – Nous parlons maintenant, alors, non. Mais, il va retourner bientôt, je penserais. _(We're speaking now, so, no. However, it will return soon, I would think.)_

Raphaëlle – Est-ce que je dois—? _(Do I have to—?)_

Jilleen – —Me tuer? _(—Kill me?)_

_Jilleen smiles gently._

Jilleen – Je pense que tu sais déjà la réponse. _(I think you already know the answer.)_

_Raphaëlle withdraws her Kushiro Blade. Jilleen spreads her arms wide._

Jilleen – Whenever you're ready.

_Player interaction ensues. Raphaëlle takes a deep breath, and then jabs Jilleen through the torso with her sword. She bleeds all over. Blood gushes out of her pale eyes. The cutscene resumes._

Raphaëlle – That's it? C'est tout? _(That's it?)_

Jilleen – Oui. _(Yes.)_

_Jilleen falls on her knees._

Raphaëlle – Est-ce que je reçois un peu de sagesse ou quelque chose? _(Do I get a little wisdom or something?)_

Jilleen – Le roi... L'Ombre... tes successeurs… ton ami… Portez une attention proche… à tous... _(The king… The Shadow… Your successors… Your friend… Pay close attention… to all…)_

_Jilleen lowers her head as she says her final words. Her pale eyes close. Raphaëlle gets her sword out of Jilleen's body. Raphaëlle glows a light gray. __Back at the prison, her body stops flashing. She returns to her dormant phase. While in the Cryo Hall, her body regains the demon's control. As she walks back to the tunnel platform, Raphaëlle's body transforms into an anthropological ice dragon. "__**Aisu Suit**__ online."_

Just as with all the red exits, a white energy shield protected the proceeding way out. With her new body form, Raphaëlle unlocked the exit, and then returned to the rail transportation system to reach a region of the previously visited sewers. From there, Raphaëlle rode the platform to the golem-created entrance. The platform connected with the deactivated tunnel. Before heading back down into The Underworld, Raphaëlle climbed up the wall, and back into the Golem Chamber proper. She recalled the many paths, which had previously been inaccessible to her. However, with the power of ice, Raphaëlle could visit them all. Some contained puzzles, which led to better upgrades for suits she already possessed. Others immediately led to a room that would require a new suit altogether. Nonetheless, Raphaëlle managed to fulfill the accessible side-quests. _"__**Charge Blast – Standard**__ online." _Her Kushiro Blade received an upgrade. _"__**Charge Blast – Fire**__ online." _Her Kasan Suit received an upgrade. _"__**Charge Blast – Ice**__ online." _Her new Aisu Suit received in upgrade. _"ALERT: Unidentified tremor in Deblana. Mapping route for fast travel." _The robotic voice informed Raphaëlle of a sudden disturbance in the capital city of Celtica. She was quick to depart for the source of the tremor. Following the route, Raphaëlle returned to the tunnel passage she had recently discovered. Plummeting down from the Golem Chamber, Raphaëlle pulled the lever, and rode the tunnel down to The Underworld. As she travelled down, she took a moment to think about whatever was on her mind. Again, she pondered of her sanity, and questioned the two young women she had met. Despite having Shadow influences in their dreams, why did they rest in the halls? Flann's nightmares had briefly resurrected in The Underworld, but Jilleen's was live, and appropriate to Raphaëlle's arrival at the river. In terms of her sanity, she continued to question whether the girls were, in fact, real. She questioned whether her adventure was real. Raphaëlle did not know what to believe. How badly had The Shadow been influencing her? To what extent would she remain a pawn of the demonic entity within? When would she be freed from the shackles in the prison, and able to be herself again? The expected tunnel alerts briefly interrupted her.

Expecting to rotate around, Raphaëlle awaited her arrival to the outer core – to make her ascent into The Underworld. As time continued on, the gravity changed. The tunnel brought her to the center of the planet, whereby she arrived within the river of lava and blood beneath the city. Raphaëlle swam through a chunk of the river to reach the throne. Monsters roamed about. Just as in the frigid ruins, the creatures were scattered all over. Raphaëlle tried dodging most of their attacks, since she could not attack as well while submerged. Making her way to the throne, she wondered about the sudden event in Deblana. What sort of tremor could have possibly been going on? She hoped the best for her true self in the prison. She hoped she would receive no harm, as a result. As the journey continued, the monsters grew more and more harmful to her. Raphaëlle attacked with her ice powers, which helped tremendously. Upon reaching the bridge, Raphaëlle climbed up. She soared through the arches, and to the throne. She saw the slain SHADOWFLANN beast lay angled and molten. She wondered whether the demons questioned its sudden appearance near the throne, since its blue glow ended upon death. Raphaëlle swooped down to the beast's upper back, and ran up the shallow portion of the red river. The throne continued to lay barren. None sat upon it. The girls spoke of her successors, but none did she see. She had no time to sit, pause, and indulge the situation of The Underworld. She had pressing issues to face in Deblana, and she needed to face them quickly. Raphaëlle travelled out back, and down the staircase to the river promenade. She walked down the path to the tunnel. Upon reaching it, she pulled the lever. The platform descended her down the tunnel, until she would reach the point of gravity change. The expected alert spoke on prompt. _"ALERT: Gravity alteration imminent." _

_A cutscene ensues._

_Pontus and Gaia walk across the bridge in The Underworld. They pass people by, who would like their attention, but Pontus and Gaia simply raise their hands. They have a conversation of their own, into which they divulge. They hold hands as they walk and speak, but look neither all too happy nor in love. They have stressing matters to discuss._

Gaia – So, my love, what shall we do?

Pontus – She mustn't linger much longer here.

Gaia – Do you have a plan?

Pontus – I always have a plan. _"Never go unprepared._" That's my motto.

Gaia – You were always were a smart one.

_They stop. Pontus takes both of Gaia's hands, and stares her in the eyes._

Pontus – To think that we called her _"leader"_; _"ruler"_. What nonsense.

Gaia – My love, what's the matter?

Pontus – She fit herself ill to the throne. She could not reign a realm of demons. Raphaëlle had guidance.

Gaia – What are you implying?

Pontus – She was an invoker. Not a leader. She brought us into the darkness, with help of the voice. Jariah't performed a better job as ruler than she did. Jariah't had motives. Raphaëlle only followed orders. A leader does not _follow_ orders. They _deliver_ orders. I fear vengeance upon our rule. She still listens to the voice. If we separate them… Well, then, we will have freedom.

Gaia – What's your plan, my love?

_Pontus begins to speak upon their arrival at the military grounds. One of the overseer demons marches toward them with news._

Bur'jop – Sir, we're detecting some bizarre movement in Deblana.

Pontus (to Gaia) – If the voice will lead her there, we have her cornered.

Pontus (to Bur'jop) – Keep a close eye there! Be prepared for some sort of assault!

_He and Gaia continue walking. Pontus mumbles to himself._

Pontus – I'm sure it's coming…

_Fade to black._

_The player gets control._

Raphaëlle arose from the tunnel, where she stood atop the mountain that she first visited. When she arrived, she took a gander at the nearby city. She could see the castle in the distance. Smoke erupted from within. The ground shook around it. The trees, which surrounded the castle, had fallen and burned. There was a general commotion along the streets in the city. The tremor was not just at the castle. There was a path. The tremor did not seem natural. Raphaëlle flew down to the city to investigate. As she touched down the nearest street to the mountain, she received a notification. _"Tracking source of tremor. Scanning in process."_ Raphaëlle saw the smoke-filled castle up on the hill ahead. Whatever attacked Deblana was heading there. She continued to feel slight shaking. The earthquake had not quite yet died down. Raphaëlle walked past the frightened people that infested the city. Everybody was scared and worried of what was happening. News reports broke out about the sudden threat to the city. Nobody stated anything new. As Raphaëlle walked closer to the castle, the clouds suddenly filled the sky, and darkened. She expected the same outcome as the last time. However, as she approached the perimeter of the castle, which possessed no proper entrance, she drew fear for her true self. Her real self. She climbed up the trees, and hopped, from branch to branch, into the courtyards. She ran up the hill, and jumped down into the underground prison – where the real Raphaëlle rested. She walked toward the final prison cell in the hall. Her entire body was pale. Veins stood out of her skin. Blood poured out of her eyes, and made a large puddle near her feet. Her bleeding hands gripped the bars. A demonic smile lay twisted on her face. Her eyes lacked pupils. The Shadow had already corrupted her mind. They stood face to face. Raphaëlle, the real one, was still entranced.

_A cutscene ensues._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Wake up, Raphaëlle. It's time to get up.

_Pause._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Your nightmare is over.

_Raphaëlle grumbles, and slowly awakes._

_**SHADOWALL**_ There we are. Good morning.

_Raphaëlle's eyes roll to the front, which return her pupils. However, after blinking numerous times to fix her vision, her blue glowing demonic self suddenly vanishes. She gradually begins to realize her situation. She feels a slight rumble beneath her feet. Blood drips from her eyes. She wipes them clean. The player gets control._

Upon thinking of her dreams, memories began to fill Raphaëlle's mind. She remembered the dreams she has had. They did not escape her mind. They remained there so vividly. After taking a deep breath, she saw the prison bars slide into the wall. Who could be letting her free? Raphaëlle walked forward a few steps, and then looked back at her cell. Her mind seemed so clear. She remembered the demonic entities that filled the cells. She remembered speaking with The Shadow. Yet, could it all possibly be true? Raphaëlle turned back, and walked out of the prison hall. Looking up at the raining sky, she noticed the smoke surrounding the castle – which began to clear up from the rain. The smoke within the castle – just like in her dream. Could her nightmares be coming to life? Raphaëlle suddenly felt as though she had recollected things from her nightmares. Things she never could pull off in reality. Although, she tried to – during her final hours, and deep within. Nevertheless, Raphaëlle began climbing up the castle to the throne room. She travelled to the very place where her nightmares started. However, her brain felt just fine. She did not feel any issues. The Shadow was not at work. The Shadow left her alone. Jumping from ledge to ledge, Raphaëlle eventually arrived at a higher elevated portion of the castle. There, she searched for a way in. An energy barrier required a double discharge. Raphaëlle used fire on the first portion, and ice on the second. She entered the throne room with use of her Kushiro Blade. As she walked in, The Shadow began to flash blue within her. The Shadow became aware of the truth behind her 'neural transmission failures'. Raphaëlle had acquired her suits during the briefest moments, in which she was awake. The Shadow wanted to seize Raphaëlle's control. As she got closer to the throne, her vision began to alter. She started seeing glimpses of Cú Roí sitting there. With every glimpse, he appeared more and more demonic. Blood began to drip from Raphaëlle's eyes. Once she stood in front of him, and still tried to resist the control, Raphaëlle fell on her knees – and wept blood on the floor. Cú Roí swept his arm down, grabbed the demon girl by the neck, and raised her in front of his face. The true Raphaëlle remained asleep near his foot. The demon and the giant skeleton king stared each other in the eyes. Cú Roí threw Raphaëlle against the far wall from which she entered. A barrier suddenly surrounded the throne room, which Raphaëlle hit her back on. She slid down from it, and withdrew her Kushiro Blade. She had fire and ice at her side. She knew she would be stronger, but how much stronger? To what extent would she be able to face the tall skeleton king? In his right hand, a giant fire sword suddenly appeared. In his left, ice. He raised both swords high in the air. Fire and ice descended, and wrapped Cú Roí around in a cyclone. The wind swept away. He looked much differently – a monster.

_**BOSS – SHADOWCÚ ROÍ  
><strong>__Subject is the corrupt form of the resurrected king from eons ago. The Shadow influences the subject as a way of vengeance. This vengeance exists elementally. Dark magic powers these elements, and combines them. The dark magic acts as a barrier to protect the subject's vulnerabilities. This darkness lives through the confines of the subject's body. Subject's weaponry is of a higher class and power than possessed in your current inventory. It is strongly encouraged to deflect elemental attacks than to avoid them. Proceed with caution._

The Corrupt skeleton king began the fight with a huge blast of ice. Raphaëlle protected herself with fire, and then flew up to melt the ice at the source, with her Kasan Suit. Fraction by fraction, Raphaëlle began thawing SHADOWCÚ ROÍ's ice sword. The king knocked her off with a mighty flame. Following this, SHADOWCÚ ROÍ slammed his ice sword down to Raphaëlle to chop her in two. She rolled out of the way, and stood up just in time to retort with fire. The corrupt skeleton king plunged his ice sword into the ground. Raphaëlle used her upgrade to her advantage, and performed immense damage with her Kasan Suit. However, while she attacked and slashed away, the king used his fire sword to stop Raphaëlle. She flew back, switched to her Aisu Suit, and performed the same tactic, while his fire sword had hit the ground. When both were in a weak enough state, Raphaëlle followed the routine, which the king performed, with his oral attacks. A blast of ice shot out of his mouth. Raphaëlle swung it back with fire. The king returned the fireball to her, which she froze. They continued back and forth until one faltered. When the corrupt skeleton king failed, Raphaëlle flew up to his neck, and attacked his head with the corresponding element. When enough had cracked, the king tossed her off, and rose again with his blades. Another round began. Raphaëlle retained her methods and tactics from the previous round, in order to succeed. She tried her best to avoid any oncoming, threatening glacial or volcanic attacks. With anything that seemed tolerable, Raphaëlle took care of it with the proper element. Upon weakening one of his swords to a fair enough extent, the demon girl could finally make an intense assault – rather than wait with a minimal amount of attacks between threatening, fatal blasts of fire or ice. She continued assaulting the sword until the other blade sliced her off, she weakened the sword fully, or simply flew off to avoid any further damage.

The battle pressed on as Raphaëlle followed the scanned guidance left behind for her. She attacked the fire sword with stronger ice attacks, and the ice sword with even stronger fire attacks. The upgrades she received were rather helpful in combat, as they gave her quite powerful assaults to perform to the corrupt skeleton king. Once one of his blades implanted the ground, Raphaëlle took care of the other. Avoiding all of his almighty attacks, Raphaëlle tried her hardest to defeat SHADOWCÚ ROÍ. When both had fallen in power, he added an extra amount of difficulty to the mix. He blasted a continual, streamlined assault of ice. Raphaëlle avoided all of them, but tried to attack the final one. SHADOWCÚ ROÍ tried again with fire. Again, she avoided all but the last one. When the corrupt skeleton king had enough, he removed his wrists from the hilts of his swords. He blasted a gigantic brick of ice from one hand, and a gush of pouring lava from the other. He launched both simultaneously, so it was a matter of strength and courage to either avoid, defend, or retort SHADOWCÚ ROÍ's almighty attack. Whatever the case, Raphaëlle flew back up to the corrupt skeleton king's neck, and slashed away to decapitate him properly. When his head was off, the body had become useless to him. He flew around, within Raphaëlle's vicinity, and breathed a continual spew of either fire or ice. Raphaëlle defended herself strongly, and attacked the ancient head with the appropriate element. This continued until his skull became utterly frail and dull.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle uses Concentration Energy to enter SHADOWCÚ ROÍ's body, to perform her deadly finish. Since The Shadow contains such an immense amount of power within the two anyway, upon merging, a devastating conclusion begins. The entirety of SHADOWCÚ ROÍ's body shines blue. All of his veins become truly visible. Both Raphaëlle and SHADOWCÚ ROÍ become over surged with all of The Shadow's might. Though Raphaëlle is ultimately successful in killing the corrupt skeleton king, she finds The Shadow's power much too overbearing for her. She tries to escape The Shadow's clutches, but things go awry. _

Rebecca (voice) – Hang tight! We're trying to contain the stability.

_Raphaëlle is standing in front of the kitchen of her house. Her bloody Kushiro Blade is in her right hand. She notices blood in the sink. Quite a bit of it. She then hears yelling. It sounds for far away, but it gets closer and closer. She turns around, and sees her father._

Michel – Pourquoi voudrais-tu faire cela? _(Why would you do that?)_

Raphaëlle – Quoi? _(What?)_

Michel – Tu as pris _mon_ épée de _mon_ armurerie et tué ton pauvre vieux grand-père! Qu'est-ce que c'est mal avec toi? _(You took out my sword from my armoury, and killed your poor old grandfather! __What is wrong with you?)_

Raphaëlle – Je ne l'ai pas tué! Je lui ai découvert comme ça! _(I didn't kill him! I just found him like this!)_

Shaun (voice) – Some technical difficulties, if you will.

Michel – C'est tout. Tu vas dehors maintenant – et tu restes là! _(That's it. You go outside now – and you stay there!)_

_Michel takes the Kushiro Blade back, and stabs Raphaëlle through the torso. He carries her out to the front door, and throws her on the street. She lands near a sewer hole, where a trio of black, slimy serpents emerge. The serpents slither around Raphaëlle's body. They cover her torso, legs, and head. One by one, they each enter her holes – the respiratory hole, the reproduction hole, and the secretion hole. Raphaëlle sat up in a shock._

Rebecca (voice) – Everything should be normal right away. Just hold on.

_Raphaëlle sits on the throne in The Underworld. Lune is descending into her new world. The ground rumbles like crazy. However, flying in front of her, above the river, is her demonic self._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ You think yourself so perfect for the throne. Do you not see how our world is changing? Look above, Raphaëlle! Look at what you have done to this place! You and your people have destroyed a sanctuary! Our life will no longer be the same because of you! If you had _listened_, we wouldn't be in this mess!

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Tu as ramené la lune vers le bas! C'est ton faut, Ombre! Je t'ai écouté! J'ai suivi ce que tu as demandé! J'ai même tué ma propre famille pour toi, parce que je pensais que tu nous mènes de meilleures choses! Tu es un menteur!

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ _(You're the one who brought the moon down! This is your doing, Shadow! I listened to you! I followed what you asked! I even killed my own family for you, because I thought you were leading us to better things! You are a liar!)_

_Fade to white._


	4. SEQUENCE II: Curiosity

**SEQUENCE II: Curiosity**

_"Source of tremor located. Mapping route for fast travel."_ Since Raphaëlle received a notification, she knew that she was not in her true body. As she opened her eyes, she found herself just outside of the prison, but when she turned around, the mortal did not sleep. The mortal was not there. Raphaëlle questioned whether her true self had still rested asleep in the throne room. She decided to return there, and take a better look at the damage she and SHADOWCÚ ROÍ had done. The tunnel, which she used at the beginning of her travel, was active once again. She took the lift up to the throne room, and walked over to a laying young Raphaëlle. She kicked herself. She rolled her true self over. Blood had painted the floor from her eyes. She questioned the situation. She questioned The Shadow's motives. She questioned if The Shadow was even alive, or just in her head – but she had a tremor source to find. She wanted to see what made such a peaceful city so alive. Raphaëlle returned to the tunnel, which took her down into the sewers of Deblana. She walked around. Eventually, she found a door. It required the use of her Kasan Suit. She entered, after dispelling the barrier, but found nothing more than a harmless monster. A creature—half the size of a triceratops, with fur of a snowy owl, and the hyperactivity of a kangaroo—roamed. It walked throughout the room, where two tectonic plates below reacted. Raphaëlle walked up to the creature, and petted its fur – despite a lack of true interaction, resulting from The Shadow's absorption within. _"Tracking source of tremor. Scanning in process." _A confused demon girl, Raphaëlle wondered what was going on. She continued to pet the monster, while she waited for the scan to finish. It did not take much longer, when she received her follow-up notification.

_"Source of tremor located. Mapping route for fast travel."_ Strange, the source was not in the same location. This made her question the situation. However, it did reassure her about the outlook of Deblana, when she arrived. The creature she petted could not have possibly been the true cause of all the damage to the city. Raphaëlle found her next destination to be within the outer core, above the bridge in The Underworld. The tunnel, from which she descended, awaited her. She pulled the lever. She transported, via the _**Cú Roí Throne Room / Deblana Sewers / Julius Pond / Enfical Plaza / The Underworld**_ tunnel. Raphaëlle descended beneath the mantle of Terra. The alteration in gravity occurred near where she would arrive. She made her ascent into a new location with a peculiar name. Upon her arrival at the center of the pond, Raphaëlle noticed a bizarre colour scheme for a place within the outer core. Dead, curved trees surrounded the round hall. She stood at the center of a pond. Petals infested the water. Though the trees were their usual brown colour, the sky was scarlet, the water was Persian rose, and the flower petals were fuchsia. In all four compass directions, fuchsia-coloured exits stood. _"Specific sword required."_ Raphaëlle saw nowhere to go. She used her Wings to fly around, in search of a path to proceed, since there were none blatantly displayed. Upon an intense search with Demon Vision, Raphaëlle found a slim path along the upper walls. Raphaëlle crawled in, and was teleported elsewhere. She arrived at a higher elevated section of Séain. _"New passage discovered."_ She crawled out. A red exit stood across from her. She flew to it, and used her Kasan Suit to get through.

This clearly displayed, that had Raphaëlle explored more of the ruins during her initial visit, she might have found the **Séain Ruins** much longer ago. She went through. As she progressed through the expanded ruins, Raphaëlle found many directions in which to go – one guarded in red; one in white; one in fuchsia. The fuchsia, of course, being inapplicable to her current situation. As she entered the cave, beyond the red exit, she found a puzzle for which to solve. After completing it, she had diminished the white exit's power to red. This made Raphaëlle wonder how much of these ruins she could have explored – back with solely her Kasan Suit. She found another puzzle in the proceeding room, which allowed her to transform the fuchsia exit to a white one. With the Aisu Suit, she continued onward. Various creatures greeted her throughout the ruins. There were a number of paths to take, but most of which required a suit upgrade. Of those she could travel through, Raphaëlle encountered creatures of both ice and dark matter, as well as puzzles. She walked across plains of snow, swam within ice water, and flew through tunnels and caves further up. Though the creatures were more aggressive and violent, they were still tolerable enough to reach the end of the traversable path in one piece. After an arduous journey through the adolescent ruins—adolescent to Raphaëlle—she had arrived at the final white exit. Her breath was nearing its end. She felt very little energy. She hoped the march back would not be so tough and overexerting. After dispelling the barrier protecting the large door, Raphaëlle walked in. She entered the largest hall in all of Celtica. Four walls surrounded the center of **Umbra Hall**. Using Demon Vision, Raphaëlle searched for the switch to descend the walls. After pressing them, nothing happened – but the fuchsia exit unlocked. Raphaëlle, after taking one last look, walked through. The sunset sky infested this part of the ruins. It gave the snow a tint of pink. Raphaëlle made her way to the unlocked fuchsia door on the other side. Upon reaching it, the door locked back up. Raphaëlle looked around. She tried turning on Demon Vision to search for a way to fix the problem. She did not see anything, except for a blue glow in the snow to her left. Something appeared buried against the walls of the ruins.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle walks up to it, and uses her Kasan Suit to melt the snow. It is a person. A young man. She uses her Kasan Suit again – to which he awakes, and rolls over. He, too, possesses The Shadow's Aura. They stare into each other's eyes. Raphaëlle realizes who she is looking at, but the young man acknowledges her in a way she does not expect. _

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ J– Julius?

Julius – Raph… You're Raphaëlle, right?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yeah.

Julius – I knew it. I've had nightmares about you.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ You don't– remember me from school? You always wrote me poems.

Julius – I only remember a demon who listened to The Shadow.

_He stands up, and uses his sword to unlock the door. _

Julius – But thanks for bringing me back to consciousness anyway.

_Raphaëlle chases after, and watches him use the tunnel down into The Underworld. Raphaëlle jumps down the hole, activates her Wings, and follows him. Julius sees her, when he decides to have a little fun with her. He fully transforms into his demonic form, and flies up with his Kurai Blade to attack. The player gets control._

_**JULIUS  
><strong>__Subject is a former friend and companion, who has had his memories altered for an unknown period. Mind appears subjugated. However, it is impossible to complete such an analysis at this time. Subject wields a dark sword, known as the Kurai Blade. In this current instance, avoiding attacks would be wisest. Subject has the clear vulnerability of light, however light is not in your current possession. Based on inventory, there is no highlight for an alternate vulnerability. Proceed with caution._

Julius began assaulting Raphaëlle with his sword. She tried her best to avoid receiving any of his attacks, but retorted with various elemental types of her own. Raphaëlle tested out fire and ice. Flames seemed to provide significant more damage than ice. Especially so, when utilizing the flamethrower attack, provided by the upgrade. Raphaëlle and Julius combatted each other throughout the tunnel, as they made their winged way to The Underworld. Raphaëlle fought admirably, in order to weaken her rival. Through fire, she was able to deliver a good chunk of pain, while Julius brought pain back with his dark magic. Both of them received cuts all over their bodies. Blood dripped from just about everywhere. Julius received burn marks, in addition. Raphaëlle's skin had begun to peel. Both of them had their wings torn, to some extent. Though never to the extremity of being incapable of flying. Raphaëlle still weakened him with fire. Despite his efforts to bring intense pain to Raphaëlle, Julius needed to withstand the pain of the flames, in order to survive. Both made deep incisions into each other's bodies with their swords. Both made deep impacts of elemental attacks. Both could feel the pain their cruelties that they brought about. As their blood continued to escape their bodies; as they continued to burn and peel; as they sliced each other's bodies into deep, gruesome pain, they still fought. Neither gave up. Not yet. When the time came, though—upon significantly weakening Raphaëlle, to the point that she could possibly reach her end—Julius escaped the tunnel. Despite both their intense pains, they both fled for The Underworld. Their sword-clashing reign of terror was brought into the city, into the river, and then to the throne. Raphaëlle was on the verge of death, it seemed. She paused, and sat on the throne to breathe. She needed to heal, but there was no time. Julius flew back to the city. The demons could sense some sort of violence, aggression, and trauma – but they could not see it. They were blind to the truth. Raphaëlle, after her brief pause, returned to the city. She landed on one of the streets, but Julius was transforming into something worse.

_**SHADOWJULIUS  
><strong>__Subject is a corrupt, twisted, monstrous form of the previous subject. The Shadow has taken control of the host, and evolved him into such a demon of dark magic and black ice. The subject, however, is a much more devastating beast. Due to the analyzed black ice attacks, the subject's vulnerability to fire has become a clear secondary vulnerability, alongside light. Upon analyzing your current condition, the subject is likely to—_

_A cutscene ensues._

_A burst of light emerges from in front of Raphaëlle. The light rids both she and SHADOWJULIUS of The Shadow. Raphaëlle and Julius, now human, stare at each other as they fall on their knees. They can feel their deaths approaching – especially from the heat. They then look up, and see an Apple of Eden – and a hand holding it. Raphaëlle turns her head, and sees the wielder. With a sword in Pontus' hand, he shoves his blade through her shocked mouth, and out through the back of her head. She sees the blood vomit out of her mouth, and onto his sword and hand. Before her eyes close, she falls onto the ground – to burn and die as a mortal. _

Pontus – We are free now, Julius.

_He uses his dark magic on Julius to return him to his lively demonic form._

Pontus – No longer will we lay a pawn to The Shadow.

Julius – You—you know of The Shadow, too?

Pontus – Yes. I've been haunted by its grueling nightmares. We are done with that now. We are free, and she is dead.

_Julius gets closer, goes on one knee, and rubs Raphaëlle's back._

Julius – Goodbye, Raphaëlle.

_He suddenly begins coughing. Black slime pours out of his mouth, and onto Raphaëlle's body. His eyes begin to bleed. He transforms back into the monster._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ What makes you think this is goodbye? What makes you think she's dead?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Shadow?

Pontus – What?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Shadow, what are you doing?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ He summoned us back with dark magic. I expected he would let you live. Now, let us pass our power through to her.

_SHADOWJULIUS' hand turns black. He never took it off Raphaëlle's body. A blue glow suddenly envelops her body. Her bones, veins, and body parts become visible through this blue light. Julius looks up at Pontus._

Pontus – Julius? You stop this right now.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ I can't! It's The Shadow!

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Goodbye, Julius. Now _you_ are free. Now _you_ are dead.

_SHADOWJULIUS' entire body transforms to bats. They fly away in all directions. Pontus looks down. Raphaëlle is no longer resting there. He looks around with the Apple, but does not see anything. He growls, and then turns around, adjusting his cape as he does. _

_The camera pans up to demonic Raphaëlle perched on one of the rooftops. She stares at him. The bell towers ring. The camera pans around her to a third-person view. The player then gets control. _

_"New collectible unlocked. Collect 100 __**Large Bat Wings**__ to activate Umbra Hall." _A notification greeted Raphaëlle upon her resurrection. Re-gathering her thoughts, she made the note that Pontus, one of her successors, possessed an Apple of Eden. With use of it, her invincibility would become a vulnerability. This would not bode well for her. In addition, the demon army was on high alert for an intruder. Blade users were prepared on land, while archers were prepared on rooftops. Raphaëlle needed to be on the lookout for danger, while also figuring out where to go next. The demons could not see her, but they could see movement. Raphaëlle made sure to be careful. As she jumped from one building to the other's ledge, she waited for the archer to return to his previous post. When he was close enough to the ledge, she entered his body – and then stabbed him through the leg, with her Kushiro Blade. She quickly climbed up, covered his mouth, and laid him on the rooftop. She looked down from both ledges. A demon was on one side, and two were on the side from which she had previously dangled. She slowly climbed down to the alleyway with the two demons. When she was close enough, and no other routes were intersecting, she killed both with a single swipe. Carefully avoiding the archer, which could very well have seen her, Raphaëlle walked along the wall of the building – and around to the other demon. She whistled for him. The demon, curious, checked to see the matter. Raphaëlle waited with her back against the wall, and then decapitated him. She then returned to the rooftops, before the aforementioned archer would call recruits. She jumped, from roof to roof, when the archer was oblivious to her movements. Just as the previous time, she waited on the ledge for him to return, when she would make her kill. Using Demon Vision, Raphaëlle searched for her next major target. She looked to the bell tower. Séain would be her escape.

She perched herself on the ledge, and found her two gold targets patrolling the twin bells. She had some demon paths in the way of her destination. More to kill, it seemed. Raphaëlle climbed down the side of the building. The road to the twin bell towers appeared so distant, with all the demons walking around in such a free-roaming area. Buildings were minimal. Raphaëlle, though, needed to make her kills from behind those few buildings – or else the others would find her. When she had murdered enough, before any archers would notice, she climbed a building to the ledge. She made her next assault. She needed to be cautious to avoid other archers noticing her. Three would see her. Raphaëlle waited for the nearest to face away. She jumped over, and sliced off his legs and head. There was too large enough a distance to reach the next building quickly. Instead, she climbed down, and took care of the other demons in the way. Section by section, the demons were finished. She very carefully reached the bell towers. She could not afford to lose. After cautiously killing those that stood around the towers, Raphaëlle climbed up to the leftmost bell chamber. Her first gold target awaited. For her amusement, she walked inside, and stood behind the demon. She stabbed him. The other demon noticed the lack of bell ringing, and jumped over. Raphaëlle stood against the wall, and stabbed him by surprise. She then climbed down the building, and pulled the tunnel lever, to head down into Séain. What she did not realize, as she reached the valley of snow, was that she was not alone. A sneaky Gaia followed Raphaëlle. Gaia had a hunch Raphaëlle would go to Séain – and her hunch was right.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Pontus is sitting on the throne. A swarm of bats begin to infest his view of The Underworld. The bats congregate into a single entity, when SHADOWJULIUS appears. He kneels before the king, with a menacing smile encapsulating his face. Blood drips down from his teeth. _

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ I apologize for the trouble The Shadow had caused us.

_Pontus puts his right hand forward._

Pontus – Never you mind. I've seen her. I've met her. Our quarrels shall become a war, as time continues.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ What is my next command, milord?

_Pontus leans forward, and rests his nose against SHADOWJULIUS' nose. They stare into each other's eyes. Pontus laughs sinisterly._

_Fade to black._

_The player gets control._

There were not very many places left to travel through in Séain, with Raphaëlle's current equipment. For the most part, her situation was to lay low for a while. She traversed through the snowy region, with thoughts filling her mind completely. She did not fully understand what became of Julius. Her relationship with him had changed drastically. Despite this, though, she was glad The Shadow had saved her, and revived her. She was not quite ready to die. Yet, as she walked through the snow, she could not help but wonder of Julius' transformation. She thought about how the world had changed. She thought about her actions, prior to the crumbling of the planet. She thought about how she treated her surroundings, and how she dealt with her ailment. Aspects of her life changed dramatically in the last few years. The Shadow was running low on time. The Shadow needed a vessel. Raphaëlle needed to be ready for the chaos. The preparation changed her. She did not end up as the person she wanted to be. Dreams she thought she could fulfill, before the world's supposed end, were gone. A former life flashed before her very eyes – to the point that her mind became separate, by sanity and insanity. No matter how far she travelled through Séain, she would not be able to figure out which Raphaëlle was which. For all she knew, Julius could have just been her mind's recollection of him, with a twist of The Shadow's magic. She did not know how much control she truly had with her life. As she entered the ruins, the quest she so bizarrely put herself on became a quest for an answer: why fight? What is the purpose of the adventure? Raphaëlle crept into the ruins.

Jumping down from the entrance ledge, Raphaëlle landed in a large pile of snow. Having startled a family of burrowing creatures, she watched movement beneath the snow; underground. She slowly walked behind them, and followed them to their destination. Having reached the main plaza from her last venture through Séain Ruins, she took a quick gander up, and noticed purple doors all around. Not even Umbra Hall was accessible. She looked back at the ground, but the critters were gone. She stepped forward, to where she last saw them, and suddenly cracked the ground beneath the snow. A hole suddenly forged itself. The creatures were still crawling down along the creviced walls. Bits of earth tumbled down the hole. She waited for them to escape, and then jumped all the way down. She could see a red door further within. There were small path for which the creatures could travel through. After opening the door with her Kasan Suit, she found herself atop a long, spiralling path downward, where the snow began to melt – and the ground transformed, in a gradient fashion, into a cerise colour. Following the little buggers, Raphaëlle travelled down the path. As she continued her way downward, the ground grew more wet and mushy. An off-coloured slush followed her into a completely different environment. However, much unluckily, a fuchsia-coloured door awaited her at the bottom. With no way to progress, Raphaëlle searched around for an alternate route – but nothing presented itself too easily. Utilizing Demon Vision, a peculiar highlight glowed along the underside of the spiralling path. Raphaëlle walked around, and noticed a lever. She pulled it. From under the ground, in a circular motion, a platform revealed itself to Raphaëlle. She already stood on it. With the platform beneath her feet, Raphaëlle pulled the lever. A sudden thrust brought her further below. _**Séain Ruins Passage / Enfical Passage**_brought her into a new region. Noticing the bent palm trees from a supposed recent windstorm, Raphaëlle hopped, from tree to tree. She travelled into one of the many caves of Enfical.

Not much of Enfical was open. Most of the environment was contained in a confined, enclosed space – the caves. In addition to such, a trail of blood seemed to stream its way through the cave in which Raphaëlle walked. Minding the bats as she walked, Raphaëlle continued through to the other side, whereby some palm trees awaited. She jumped down from the cave, and onto a tree—from there onto another, so on and so forth—until she arrived at the shore. _"Devastating monstrous activity discovered. Mapping route for fast travel."_ Under the assumption that such activity was of Raphaëlle's next visionary visit, why would The Shadow assist her? Would the lasting life of the girl not please it? The last proper meeting she and The Shadow exchanged was unpleasant. It was not happy with their meddling. Although, perhaps The Shadow had realized a strength, after the fight against Cú Roí? Raphaëlle noted the location of her destination, and travelled there; defeating monsters, and passing through different coloured cave barriers, along the way. Upon arriving, the sight was most unpleasant. An absolute giant—a colossal beast—roamed along the bare surface. It had been feasting. Monsters of Enfical – devoured in mere short moments. The giant chomped on the creatures' teeth, and swallowed it all like dust. It drank their blood to wash everything down. As it walked closer, Raphaëlle noticed her incorrect viewing. The light did not reflect its red-like glow. Blood coated the giant. It dripped off its body. Even its eye sockets, which did not possess any eyeballs, seeped blood. Not an ounce of normality seemed to exist. Nevertheless, Raphaëlle jumped from the high altitude cave edge, and onto the giant's shoulders. They engaged in a battle.

_**SHADOWDAVAN  
><strong>__Subject is the corrupt, nightmare form of Davan. It is capable of performing a multitude of strategies and attacks, which ultimately benefit from its size and stature. Subject wields devastating power and strength. Due to its capability of unleashing large amounts of lava, and even transforming it to magma, can be very harmful if unprepared. Subject wields a clear vulnerability to ice, as a result. Proceed with caution._

Raphaëlle landed adjacent to the goliath's neck, who could feel a sudden bizarre presence. An itch to scratch. The demon girl immediately used her Aisu Suit, and performed a few mighty attacks to the giant's neck. None of which it enjoyed. Having charged a firm, strong blast of lava in its hands, Raphaëlle was quick to descend into an area of safety. She jumped onto its other arm, and blasted large amounts of ice to the enflamed hand – which, in turn, turned into a semi-frozen chunk of molten rock. Raphaëlle flew around, reversely, across the giant's back. She flew over to the other hand, avoiding the hurling of magma. Upon reaching the other side, the demon girl breathed and blasted ice, and stabbed the giant through the hand. After stabbing with her ice-fueled Kushiro Blade, blood gushed out. The giant raised its hand. Raphaëlle quickly jumped off, before being dessert. However, the behemoth was not exactly raising its hand for demon girl meat – but for its own blood to drink. Holding her Kushiro Blade downward, toward the other hand, Raphaëlle stabbed the giant yet again. She merely touched its knee while doing so. In front of its own face, the goliath created more lava in its blood-dried hand, which it launched at Raphaëlle – an attack she did not anticipate. She travelled straight down to the giant's foot. Upon landing near its toes, she brought herself back into the moment of fighting, after having hurt herself quite a bit. Raphaëlle charged the strongest ice attack she could muster, and stabbed the giant through the leg – just above the ankle. The thigh began to twitch. She kept attacking and attacking, until the behemoth fell on one knee, due to its exposed fragility. With a fraction of the goliath defeated, Raphaëlle flew up to its neck, and glacially attacked there some more.

After several attacks with her Kushiro Blade, tearing began to occur on the back of the giant's neck. Raphaëlle made her assaults even stronger. Yet, the more of its flesh she destroyed—all while avoiding multiple lava and magma-based attacks—she noticed a lack of proper bone structure. The goliath kept trying to hinder the demon girl from decapitating it, but Raphaëlle retorted with strong blasts of ice. Once she finished destroying the giant's neck, its body began to molt. Lava housed itself within its head, which the giant caught in its hands. With power activated in the brain, and the carcass left to become a hill of magma, Raphaëlle needed to destroy the true source of the nightmare. The giant released its head to fly freely on its own. Raphaëlle watched it move in mid-air, while she stood atop the behemoth's exposed neck. She waited for the head to get closer. At that point, she jumped toward it, with her icy Kushiro Blade held skyward, and went to slice the head in two – but she missed, and ended up heading straight for the ground. Catching herself at a near-fatal moment, Raphaëlle slid down the giant's erect-standing leg. The giant's head charged straight for the demon girl, which Raphaëlle quickly turned around to attack. A slice did not occur, but only a mere stab from one ear through to the other. The head opened its mouth, when a mixture of lava and blood spewed out. Blood seeped out of its eyes and nose, as well. The head quickly flew back up to a safer altitude. Raphaëlle followed, but it was a trap. The head had lured her. With a mighty blast of molten rock, Raphaëlle crashed along the giant's curved arm, and rolled a while. The goliath's magma began to crack. Lava began to gush out. An eruption would soon take place. The head went to reconnect itself, but Raphaëlle would not allow it. With an immediate assault, she soared, and sliced the head in half.

The carcass continued to crack and move in its volcanic mannerisms, but the giant itself was defeated. The lava gushed out onto the ground, whereby corrupt lava monsters awaited Raphaëlle, but it was a mere simple bonus to end the otherwise arduous battle. When all were finally shattered into bits and pieces, the robotic voice alerted Raphaëlle. _"__**Diving**__ online." _With a new upgrade, Raphaëlle embarked in the direction of the mapped hall, where the next girl rested. Upon finding a tunnel filled with a lava and blood mixture, beyond a large cave infested with bats, the demon girl decided to test out her new ability. With a darkened region above, Raphaëlle swam far up to the gradually brightening, higher altitude region of Enfical – **Julius Pond**. Emerging from the lovely-coloured water, Raphaëlle travelled through the secret passage to Séain Ruins. It appeared that she was going to a section beyond Umbra Hall. Not in the straight direction, through a long-winded arched cave to Enfical, but rather beneath Umbra Hall. Before stepping through the door into the hall, a trio of creatures disrupted her movements, which prevented her from travelling any further. Utilizing her Kasan Suit, Raphaëlle turned around to take part in a brief battle. Once all were dead, and shattered into bleeding, snow-dusted chunks of gut, a moment of silence enveloped the demon girl's surroundings. Yet, among that silence, a shimmering sound tingled somewhere in the area. Raphaëlle took a moment to listen for that sound. Within the cave, a colony of ignored bats rested. She had ignored them during her passage to Umbra Hall. Because of this, she failed to notice the one larger bat among the others. Upon quietly approaching them, Raphaëlle killed the larger one, which startled the others. _"24/100 collected." _She killed the rest immediately. She entered Umbra Hall, where a tunnel secretly awaited – within the central portion. After activating it with Demon Vision, she travelled down into the central portion of **Plasma Hall**. The walls surrounded her. A trap.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Que se passe-t-il? _(What the hell?)_

_Silence._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Allo? Quelqu'un là? _(Hello? Anybody there?)_

_Silence._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Wait. Allow us.

_Raphaëlle, within, is confused._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Ombre? Qu'est-ce que tu fais? _(Shadow? What are you doing?)_

_Three fragments of blue surge out of Raphaëlle's body. They travel through the walls, and emerge as entities of The Shadow, which Raphaëlle had previously experienced._

Raphaëlle – Ombre, qu'est-ce que tu fais? _(Shadow, what are you doing?)_

_The walls slowly descend. _

Davan – Raphaëlle, ma chérie! Vite! Exécuter ce que tu dois! _(Raphaëlle, my darling! Quick! Perform what you must!)_

_The Shadows go to enter Davan's body._

Davan – Dépêche-toi! Nous n'avons pas beaucoup de temps! _(Hurry! We haven't have much time!)_

_Player interaction ensues. Raphaëlle gets up to perform the anticipated task: killing the girl. However, as her Kushiro Blade begins to enter Davan's body, The Shadow uses its dark magic to push Raphaëlle back, and cause her suddenly to sit on the ground within the central platform. Telepathically, The Shadow causes the walls to rise and seal. Raphaëlle searches for a way out, but only finds her way back up. She begins climbing. The cutscene resumes. Suddenly, as she reaches the ledge, someone walks toward her: Julius, who transformed back._

Julius – Raphaëlle! Lend me your hand!

_He holds out his hand. Raphaëlle hesitates. She realizes she possesses the Aura, but not The Shadow itself._

Julius – Come on! Don't be stubborn!

_Raphaëlle, after a bit more hesitation, finally gives in. She takes Julius' hand. He helps her up, and out of the trap. As she gets out of the hole, she fails to notice Pontus standing behind her – with a peculiar sword pointed at her. Julius keeps it a surprise._

Julius – Are you okay?

Raphaëlle – Yeah. Just a little confused.

Julius – About what?

Raphaëlle – About what? About everything! How is The Shadow still alive? These girls! Who are they? Why are you here? Why am I alive? Why am I still here?

Pontus – You know…

_Raphaëlle turns around._

Pontus – If you don't want to be here, I can always kill you here and now. I mean, The Shadow is busy now – conveniently.

Raphaëlle – Why do you want to kill me?

Pontus – Why do you question your life?

Raphaëlle – I don't even know who I am anymore.

Julius – Aww… Poor Raph.

Raphaëlle – Oh, shut up, Julius.

Pontus – Really? You would say that to the one you love?

Raphaëlle – When did I say I love him?

Pontus – I know all about you, Raphaëlle. I once abided by your commands. The commands that even commanded you. Your reign was despicable.

Raphaëlle – What makes you think you're doing a better job?

_A sudden surge of shadow enters Raphaëlle's body._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ We know you do not possess the Apple. A despicable choice, if we do say so.

"_**Rhesus Blade**__ online." _

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Go on, Raphaëlle. Take care of him for us.

_She smiles, and bleeds out her eyes._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ I would love to.

_She summons her new sword, and stabs Pontus through the torso. However, as she does, Julius reveals that he wields the Apple of Eden. The Shadow escapes Raphaëlle. She falls onto the ground with Pontus. Julius puts it away, and walks over. _

Julius – Milord?

_Julius puts out his hand, but Pontus does not move. He gets closer, and grips Pontus' hand. Dark magic surges from one to the other. The leader of The Underworld awakes, and goes to stab Raphaëlle. The Shadow quickly regains power, and protects her with its magic. She suddenly disappears. Pontus takes the Apple, and searches for Raphaëlle, but she is not there. She returns to the underground prison in Deblana. Blood drips from her eyes, as she suddenly awakes. She sees a trio of Shadow fragments, just as before – at the start of her new adventure._

_**SHADOW002**_ So, is it true?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Qu'est-ce que c'est vrai? _(Is what true?)_

_**SHADOW001**_ Do you love Julius?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Après tout cela? Tu dois plaisanter. _(After all this? You must be joking.)_

_**SHADOW003**_ How about this: _Did_ you love Julius?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ C'est difficile à dire. C'était l'inverse depuis quelques années. _(That's hard to say. It was the other way around a few years ago.)_

_**SHADOW001**_ And what changed?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ You abruptly came into my life – much more powerfully than I imagined!

_**SHADOW002**_ Oh, sorry for harming your love life!

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ My love life? My_ love life?_ Do you know what you did, Shadow?

_**SHADOW003**_ No! Do tell!

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ You ruined me! I had all these opportunities coming for me! Sure, the nightmares were a bit bizarre, but I grew to live with them! Until—

_**SHADOW003**_ Until what?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Until you forced me to end my grandfather's own life! Everything just changed for the worst from there! I could have been an art teacher, Shadow!

_**SHADOW001**_ Seriously? You knew the end was coming! I warned you about that!

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Okay, explain this to me: How is it that I was _"the one who would listen"_, yet there are all these people who know about you? Julius knows about The Shadow, Pontus knows about The Shadow, and these twin-like girls know about you! Speaking of which, who are these girls?

_**SHADOW002**_ The girls?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yes!

_**SHADOW001**_ Uh— Not sure.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Really?

_**SHADOWR003**_ Yes. Really.

_Raphaëlle puts her hands on the bars of the cell. She starts to feel light-headed and dizzy. The Shadows merge as one._

_**SHADOWALL**_ Raphaëlle? You okay?

_The cell door opens. The player is briefly given control._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Ombre—? Qu'est—? Qu'est-ce qui m'arrive? _(Shadow—? What—? What's happening to me?)_

_**SHADOWALL**_ Well, you're walking kind of funny.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Ne— Ne me laisse pas seul comme ça. _(Don't— Don't leave me alone like this.)_

Anna – Je suis juste derrière toi. _(I'm right behind you.)_

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Maman? Anna? _(Mom? Anna?)_

Michel – Quel est le problème? _(What's the matter?)_

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Je—Je me sens étrange. _(I— feel strange.)_

Coralie – You _are_ strange.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Bête. _(Stupid.)_

_**SHADOWALL**_ Do you feel any better?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Quoi? _(What?)_

Anna – Tu te sens mieux? _(Do you feel any better?)_

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Je— Je ne sais pas. _(I— don't know.)_

Julius – Raphaëlle?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ What do you want, Julius?

_**SHADOWALL**_ You sure you don't need a hand?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Un coup de main? _(A hand?)_

Julius – Yeah. Let me help you.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ A hand?

_**SHADOWALL**_ Yes. Something wrong?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Je ne— te fais plus confiance. Je—Je dois dormir. _(I don't— trust you anymore. You're different. I— I need to sleep.)_

_**SHADOWALL**_ I found a nice, comfy spot right here.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Où? _(Where?)_

Anna – Par ici! Tu dois seulement suivre ma voix. _(Over here! Just follow my voice.)_

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Okay!

_Raphaëlle falls on the grassy hill. _

_Fade to black. _

Shaun (voice) – Really lends you a sense of perspective, don't you think?

Rebecca (voice) – Shaun?

Shaun (voice) – Yeah?

Rebecca (voice) – Shut up.

Shaun (voice) – Being a tad rude today, are we?


	5. SEQUENCE III: Thunderstorm

**SEQUENCE III: Thunderstorm**

_Upon the expected fade from black, the mountainous outskirts of Deblana is shown, with demonic Raphaëlle perching atop a tree branch at the old castle. After the camera rotates around, The player gets control. _

Gazing around at her surroundings, Raphaëlle noticed the dark clouds that blanketed the sky. The more she remained on that tree branch, the darker they became. Crackles and grumbles began. Rain followed. Raphaëlle rushed into the lower part of the castle as a beast. She quickly needed to escape Deblana, since she still had some exploring to do, and did not want to receive much of the sudden storm's power. However, much unexpectedly, lightning seemed to follow her. Upon reaching the tunnel in the courtyard, a lightning bolt struck directly in front of her. Startled, she took a few steps back. A lightning bolt struck behind her. She tried going forward again, but more lightning stopped her. Deciding to ignore it, Raphaëlle quickly ran around the lightning to the tunnel, all while multiple bolts fired at her. She gazed down at the barren tunnel; ready to make her arduous way down. A burst of equally intense electricity surged out, and knocked Raphaëlle onto the ground.

_A cutscene ensues._

_The tunnel platform rises, with Gaia standing on it. Raphaëlle, regaining her strength, charges straight for the incestuous mother – but electricity causes Raphaëlle to go flying back. Gaia uses the powers of thunder, lightning, and rain to be as powerful as she can. She withdraws a peculiar sword. She points it at Raphaëlle, but the demon girl is in no position to fight. _

Davan (within the sword) – Raphaëlle! Utilise l'Épée Rhésus! Tu peux même double exercent l'avec! _(Raphaëlle! Use the Rhesus Blade! You can even dual wield with it!)_

_As best she can, Raphaëlle withdraws her Kushiro and Rhesus Blades, and carefully stabs Gaia in the ankle – a place in which the almighty electricity does not presently live. The Rhesus Blade powers itself on the exchange of blood, which transfers into Raphaëlle's circulatory system. The amount she collects is enough for her to stand, and initiate a Vital Restoration healing process. Raphaëlle defends herself. The player gets control._

_**GAIA  
><strong>__Subject is one of the two successors of The Underworld. Power relies heavily on electricity. Notes indicate that fighting during a thunderstorm will maximize her demon form. There are no clear vulnerabilities at this point. Subject requires an alternate weapon to be properly defeated. For time being, a suggested tactic is to dodge and ignore. Proceed with caution. _

Since Vital Restoration was still taking place, Raphaëlle had no other option than to use her new Rhesus Blade. She could not wear a suit. She could not use her Wings or Demon Vision. She needed to wait until the healing process would complete. This satisfied Gaia. Raphaëlle was weak. There was nowhere for her to run – not yet. Moreover, during her weakest moment, Gaia would see to it that demon girl reached her demise. She blasted lightning, from her sword, at the demon girl. Raphaëlle did her best to avoid. Whenever she was successful, Raphaëlle quickly attacked any vulnerable, electric-free parts of Gaia's body. Raphaëlle chopped off Gaia's fingers, and stabbed her hands and arms. When no more jolting circulation went there, Raphaëlle dodged Gaia's foot stomping. Electricity surged out of there, too. Except until the demon girl stopped them from producing any more. With enough blood coursing through Raphaëlle's blood, thanks to the Rhesus Blade, Wings were finally online. Gaia joined Raphaëlle in the air. Realizing Demon Vision was active, Raphaëlle scanned Gaia's body yet again – however, instead for the locations in which the electricity spread. If she were to eliminate them all, the core would weaken. Yet, this would not ultimately work desirably. The lightning drew stronger and closer, which made Gaia stronger. Decapitating her would be nearly impossible, with such invigorating power within. Though the oral blasts grew larger from the initial ones, Raphaëlle still tried her best to avoid them, while awaiting full health. Raphaëlle had an escape route planned. Flying around Deblana just would not work anymore. Raphaëlle used Demon Vision to send the tunnel platform down. She noticed it overflowing with lava and blood, and then followed it. She lured Gaia into the tunnel. Gaia would eventually weaken, since she had her power confined in an elongated cylinder. Raphaëlle dove into the drink, and quickly dodged the jolts of electricity. She best to the best of her ability – until the alteration in gravity. Raphaëlle purposefully sent the platform to The Underworld – while Raphaëlle swam into Julius Pond, sending Gaia on a different path.

Upon entering Julius Pond, and returning to her regular form, Raphaëlle encountered the fuchsia-coloured doors she had discovered earlier. In all four directions, paths became available – in addition to the carefully concealed crawlspace into Séain Ruins. She recalled the northern door would take her through a long cave, into one of the plazas of Enfical, and to the back entrance of Umbra Hall. The other three, she had no idea. Raphaëlle embarked beyond the western door, wherein a cave awaited. She flew over to the other side—ravenously killing many creatures along the way— until she discovered a dead end – or so it seemed. She gazed up, and noticed the cave's ceiling and walls had cracked and crumbled at her current position. The brightly lit sky sent its warmth onto Raphaëlle's Wings. She flew higher, and had another look. The path up seemed concealed in some sort of glass pane, with a fuchsia exit far at the top. Raphaëlle soared through to the other side. She entered a Shadow-constructed facility, which rested within a giant cave. The facility was multi-layered. The Shadow built a series of ramps, with a door or two located on each level. Almost all of which could not open for the moment being, due to Raphaëlle not wielding the correct sword. However, the two doors at the very top _were_ functional for her. The door in front of her led to Plasma Hall, while the door behind her led to a cavernous cliff at a beach shore – with a barren passage downward to The Underworld, in addition.

Raphaëlle contemplated her next destination. She decided to enter Plasma Hall, and possibly deliver a proper greeting to Davan. However, despite lowering the central walls, Davan was not there. Not even with Demon Vision. Raphaëlle thought about the sword – the Rhesus Blade. She felt as though the sword was not even hers. The Shadow had acquired it for her. That did not feel all too comforting. She had grown accustomed to saving the girls from their nightmares herself. Wielding the blade so suddenly felt strange. She did not truly inherit it. The Shadow gave it to her. It was also unclear as to what Davan and The Shadow were doing in Plasma Hall. Why did The Shadow decide to perform Raphaëlle's work for her? Why did it suddenly take control, make her weak, and allow for Julius and Pontus to intervene. Aside from that, why were they in Umbra Hall? Why was Julius conveniently there with his arm out – and Pontus carefully standing behind her, as she climbed up from one hall to the other? All such mysteries. All affected by Raphaëlle's mental state. Discarding her curiosity, the demon girl left the hall – due to its isolation from the rest of Enfical, as was the case with all of the halls thus far. With a tainted mind filled with questions, the demon girl travelled to the cavernous cliff exit.

_A cutscene ensues._

_As she makes her way beyond the fuchsia-coloured door, a burst of electricity shoots inward from the tunnel below – knocking Raphaëlle backward, and onto the ground, and Gaia to fly into the facility. The door seals shut. Raphaëlle's strength decreases. Her vision starts to wane. Thankfully, due to the surge of electricity harming her less than last time, Raphaëlle still maintains a level of strength to stand back up. She withdraws her Rhesus and Kushiro Blades, and fights – while Vital Restoration activates. The player gets control. _

_**GAIA  
><strong>__Subject is one of the two successors of The Underworld. Power relies heavily on electricity. Notes indicate that fighting during a thunderstorm will maximize her demon form. There are no clear vulnerabilities at this point. Subject requires an alternate weapon to be properly defeated. For time being, a suggested tactic is to dodge and ignore. Proceed with caution. _

Apparently needing a reminder, Gaia blasted a large jolt of electricity at Raphaëlle from her hand – which the demon girl dodged, and then exterminated power from within her Rhesus Blade. Gaia then decided to fly and hover in mid-air. Raphaëlle took a few steps back, to give them the needed distance. Gaia summoned her peculiar sword, and charged toward Raphaëlle, with a great amount of electricity coursing through her body. Raphaëlle dodged at just the right moment, whereby she stabbed Gaia in the stomach, and then entered her body during recovery time to weaken her internally. She forced Raphaëlle out with internal electrocution, which diminished the demon girl's health a little bit. At least, though, Gaia was weaker as well. She lunged her sword downward at Raphaëlle, who rolled halfway in the opposite direction, and then retorted with a lunge of her own. However, Gaia anticipated such a move. She grabbed Raphaëlle's swords. The electricity surged through the blades, from the tip to the hilt, and into the demon girl's veins. Gaia then stomped on her stomach, which caused electricity to enter her body by the foot. Vital Restoration was diminishing even more. Although it was half-complete, Raphaëlle was instead approaching death. Gaia pointed the tip of her blade at the demon girl's neck. Raphaëlle could see the electricity travel through her arm. During the brief moment in which her foot was without full strength, Raphaëlle shoved her Rhesus Blade through Gaia's lower leg. Blood infested the sword, and provided the demon girl with just a bit more oomph. Her female successor tripped backward off her leg. Gaia was off-balance for a moment. Raphaëlle quickly stood up, and attacked her, during the brief amount of powerlessness. Despite having weakened her even further, Gaia's oral blast of electricity was still strong enough to make Raphaëlle jump backward. Although the surprise attack had lowered Raphaëlle's health a meager amount, her strength was approaching completion. Both of them charged a sword attack, though Raphaëlle kept hers a bit more hidden. Immediately after orally blasting electricity yet again, Gaia swung her sword forward. The demon girl did not expect a double attack – one she just barely dodged, while the other struck her, and electrocuted her. With a giant chunk of health depleted, Raphaëlle's sword strike was weaker than it could have been, but it was enough to stab Gaia through the torso, and restore her much-needed functionalities.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle activates her Wings, makes a quick escape, and flies to the river of blood. As she lands beyond the shore, a sudden lack of stability occurs. Raphaëlle's vision begins to flash and wane. Everything suddenly appears under the Demon Vision hue of blue. The blood she touches begins to feel like a hallucination. A half-awake feeling of sorts – in which part feels real, and part feels like a dream._

_Fade to black._

Shaun (voice) – Oh, boy. Here we go again.

Rebecca (voice) – Sorry about all this trouble, by the way.

Shaun (voice) – Yeah, we _really_ should have been double-checking the Animus before sending our friend in there.

Rebecca (voice) – Be quiet, Shaun! Nothing too problematic so far!

Shaun (voice) – So far? Hmph! I'll keep my fingers crossed, in that case.

Rebecca (voice) Have you finished writing the Database?

_Silence._

_From a first person perspective, Raphaëlle lunges upward from beneath the bathtub filled with blood. She starts touching herself to see if even this is a dream. Everything feels real. _

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ You all right in there?

_Raphaëlle startles at the sight of a hunched, demonic Julius sitting on the toilet – which is covered. She immediately covers her breasts with her arms crossed._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Sorry for startling you!

_He gets up, and walks closer._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ What do you want? Why are you here?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ I'm here for you!

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ For me?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Yes.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Why? What do you want from me?

_SHADOWJULIUS walks even closer, transforms back, and puts one foot in the bathtub of blood, and then the other. Raphaëlle slides back into more of seated position. She horizontally covers her breasts with one arm, and her vagina with her hand. His head starts to tilt downward. She squeezes her legs._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Don't look!

Julius – I wasn't going to!

Raphaëlle – Yes, you were!

_Her vision flashes. Suddenly, she is alone in the bathtub. She looks around the bathroom, but nobody else is there. She then remembers what happens next. _

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Oh, non. _(Oh, no.)_

_Her vision flashes. Three black, slimy serpents begin to slither up from the sewer hole._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Les serpents! _(The serpents!)_

_They slither along the floor of the bathtub, beneath the blood. They are not perfectly visible, due to the red, but Raphaëlle feels them. They enter her body, and stuff her – via the reproduction, secretion, and respiratory holes. Once all three enter her body, her eyes widen. She remembers what happens next._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Les œufs! _(The eggs!)_

_She starts to feel her stomach grumble. She feels the serpent eggs at work. She keeps one arm on her stomach, and the other gripping the bathtub. Her vision flashes. Julius is sitting in front of her in the bathtub of blood. Her hand and arm positions suddenly revert to breasts and vagina coverage, as if she is experiencing two different scenarios simultaneously._

Julius – Are you sure you're okay?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yeah. I'm fine.

_Julius leans in for a kiss. Both of their eyes gradually close. However, unexpectedly, a serpent slithers upward from Raphaëlle's throat, and out her mouth. They exchange the serpent as they kiss. Then, the second. The first escapes out of Julius' secretion hole, and back into the sewer. The second does the same, while the third crosses over from Raphaëlle's mouth into Julius', and out his secretion hole toward the end of their kiss. Their eyes gradually open. They slowly move their heads back. Julius smiles at her, and takes her hands._

Julius – Do you feel better now?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Oui. Merci, Ombre. _(Yes. Thank you, Shadow.)_

_The first person perspective returns to its regular third person perspective, and the environment transforms back to normal – the river of blood. However, she is not alone. SHADOWJULIUS stands erect in the river. Electricity houses his body. Gaia sits on the edge of the cliff, further back and high above – where she watches the battle of her creation, while healing. As the camera perspective goes back to Raphaëlle, the player gets control._

_**SHADOWJULIUS  
><strong>__Subject is a corrupt, twisted, monstrous form of the previous subject. Both The Shadow and Gaia have taken control of the host, and evolved him into such a demon. His powers include dark magic, black ice, and electricity. The subject, however, is a much more devastating beast. Due to the analyzed black ice attacks, the subject's vulnerability to fire has become a clear secondary vulnerability, alongside light. Due to the analyzed electric attacks, the subject's additional vulnerability is unknown, but the usual tactic might do in its stead. Proceed with caution._

The goliath thrust a blast of electricity at Raphaëlle from his hands. Raphaëlle was quick to dodge, with a skyward soar into the air. She hovered at a higher altitude than the monster's head, but charged toward him near the end of his initial assault. Raphaëlle severed circulation on his wrists, who immediately retorted with an oral blast of black ice. The demon girl tumbled backward into the river blood. With his feet, the giant surged electricity through the river floor. Raphaëlle quickly flew back toward him, and stabbed him in the ankle. The monster swooped his hand down, and snatched Raphaëlle – whom he squeezed and strangled. Electricity housed itself through his fingertips, which he used to give Raphaëlle a bit of a jolt attack, and electrocute her. The majority of her powers went offline. None were functional for the time being – except her sword in hand. Raphaëlle had her Rhesus Blade equipped, which she found somewhat useful for electric-based attacks. She would need to avoid the dark ice attacks until she could use her Kasan Suit again. Nevertheless, she was eventually free. Just as with Gaia, Raphaëlle awaited electricity to escape the goliath's body somewhere. Upon dodging the assault, the demon girl charged in with her Rhesus Blade. She stabbed the monster accordingly, functioning two-fold to give her a healing boost. After repeating the tactic once more, her suits were online once again. Just in time, too, since the monster orally blasted black ice at her. A large flame followed the Kasan Suit's movement. She charged a powerful assault, while dodging the black ice, and stabbed him through the neck. Black ice no longer reached that region of his respiratory system. Rather, it escaped through his hands. One by one, she chopped them off.

_A cutscene ensues. _

_SHADOWJULIUS sprouts his large, monstrous Wings, and soars downward – his escape route to The Underworld. Raphaëlle, with her Wings back online, follows. However, she fails to remember that Gaia is sitting on the cliff. All of Raphaëlle's determination is on chasing after Julius. Her mind does not think of other things. This makes for a perfect diversion. As Julius goes to enter the barren tunnel into The Underworld, Gaia blasts a mighty surge of electricity from her hands, which causes Raphaëlle to go flying far and deep into the river of blood. Gaia follows demonic Julius into The Underworld's sewers. Upon entering the sewers, SHADOWJULIUS reverts to his regular form. He stops, turns around, and faces Gaia._

Julius – How did you know where we were? How did you know she was behind me?

Gaia – Oh, please. Do you think she would just let you fly away?

Julius – Okay, but—

_Gaia kisses him passionately with tongue._

Gaia – What do you think? I have the Aura, too. Also…

_Gaia reveals the Apple of Eden._

Gaia – Pontus lent it to me.

Julius – You could have stopped her.

Gaia – No. My plan continues.

Julius – I still don't think this is right.

Gaia – Don't care. I lead you. Not the other way around.

_Julius flies out of the sewers, and soars high above the city. As a congregation of bats, he approaches Pontus at the throne. He kneels, with a demonic smirk on his face, and slowly looks up._

_Blackout. _

_The player gets control._

_"__**Submerged Magnetism**__ online."_ Raphaëlle plunged deep beneath the river of blood. A series of caves, guarded with various barriers, sent the demon girl further into Enfical – known as **Enfical Depths**. It was a remarkable, accidental discovery. Raphaëlle decided that she would complete Enfical exploration for the day, before returning to The Underworld. She was not quite finished with Pontus, Gaia, and Julius. However, as she reached the main plaza of Enfical Depths, she noted that all of the directions required another sword to acquire. After a sigh of regret for travelling so far, Raphaëlle returned to shore, with thoughts of her three enemies on her mind. Nothing seemed quite clear. It was still ambiguous to her why Pontus, Gaia, and Julius all had her listed as a target. There was a lack of explanation concerning their reasons for attacking her so. What did they want? What would benefit from her death? These questions, in turn, made Raphaëlle question herself. Why was she not dead already? Certainly, if Lune had struck the planet with all its might, and ending her misery with The Shadow, would she not have died, too? Would Lune's remaining power not have killed her?

Darkness stilled housed the moon. During the amount of time between The Shadow's demise, and the absolute end of Terra's destruction – surely, she should have been dead, but she was not. With that in mind, what could all three enemies have against her, and why did they not kill her already? After reaching the other side of the barren tube, Raphaëlle silently made her way from the sewers into the city. Though Pontus and Gaia did not know when the demon girl would make her next appearance, they made sure to order the guards to always be prepared. They needed to be ready for any sudden attacks on her part. Raphaëlle anticipated this. She was careful with every step. All of The Underworld remained guarded. The destination was the throne, but a simple flight there might not be that great of a plan. Raphaëlle climbed the nearest building, and perched herself along the ledge. She gazed at her various route possibilities. Demons walked around in all directions—all on different routes of their own—some alone, some in pairs, and some in groups. Archers stood along the rooftops. Raphaëlle needed to be cautious. If the nearest were to spot an invisible murder, she would be in trouble. She waited for him to face the other direction. She quietly flew over, and killed him with her standard, perfect-for-murdering Kushiro Blade. A demon had just entered the alley in-between the two buildings. Raphaëlle quickly jumped down, and assassinated him. She could hear a demon approach. She leaned against the corner of the building, and stuck her head out to watch him approach. She quickly glanced up. An archer monitored her direction. Raphaëlle immediately pushed the demon against the wall, and stabbed him through the torso. She then flew to the archer, and killed him before he would notify anyone else. Two more archers at either side still stood guard. They were the only ones that would alert the others between the city and the river. One after the other, Raphaëlle took care of them, and then flew to the bridge.

She crouched down on the tallest pillar, and perched from the ledge. The demons on the bridge were not in as great a number as those in the city, but she could see larger groupings at the military base, beyond the rightmost side of the bridge. In order to maintain silence, she swan dove off the bridge, and into the river. The splash caused some startling, but it was none too extreme. Raphaëlle swam with the monsters, which lived within the lava and blood. She swam onto the carcass of the dead miniboss, and climbed up to the ledge of the steel-plated molten rock platform. Two demons stood at either side. Raphaëlle killed them one by one, and then climbed up. An empty throne awaited her. Raphaëlle looked around, but did not see anyone. She followed the hidden rear path, and travelled to Deblana – a place she had not been in quite a while. When she arrived, she could see a parallel in the two cities. Demons guarded The Underworld, while humans—powered by the Apple—guarded Deblana. This was not very noticeable the last time she roamed Deblana. She wondered if Pontus had anything to do with it. Regardless, she needed a destination, but she did not know where to go. She heard a ruckus from the center of the city. She climbed the rooftops, killed the guards, which could actually see her, and made her way to the center. She climbed all the way up a tall church, whereby she watched the mayhem: her enemies were hosting a show.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_Rain pours. Thunder rumbles. A congregation of people surround a giant, circular platform – on which Pontus, Gaia, and Julius stand. Pontus possesses the Apple. The crowd is talkative. _

Pontus – Silence!

_Pontus squeezes the Apple of Eden. The people are suddenly still, and kneel before their new ruler. Pontus chuckles. _

Pontus – You humans make me sick. I have watched your kind's insignificance increase in quite a short amount of time. Half your world is gone, while all of ours remains intact. Allow me to fix that. Julius: come. Step forth.

_Julius gulps, and walks toward him. He stands at his side. Pontus puts his right arm around Julius' shoulders._

Pontus – This young man is a perfect example of your ultimate capabilities. When I found him, he was human – just like you. I saw potential in him. The effects of Lune transformed him – as was the case with many of the extinct humans. I brought him into my fold, and allowed him to demonstrate his potential to our enemies. Truth is there is more. Allow us to demonstrate it to the extreme. What we thought to be his _full_ potential… Well, watch this:

Julius – What?

_Pontus points the Apple at Julius, and squeezes it. Julius hunches, takes a few steps back, and covers his ears. Pontus unleashes his full Shadow potential, and watches as he grows into a large monster – the same monster from Raphaëlle's battles, albeit stronger. Julius becomes a goliath under a corrupt Shadow's, Pontus', and Gaia's control. Returning to the church, Raphaëlle can hear The Shadow's thoughts to SHADOWJULIUS. __She replies._

Raphaëlle – Un monstre? Après tout ce que nous avons fait? _(A monster? After all that we've done?)_

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ We're sorry, Raphaëlle. Our alliance ends here. We belong to Julius now.

Raphaëlle – Désolé? Vraiment? _(Sorry? Really?)_

_SHADOWJULIUS looks up at Raphaëlle, with an evil smirk on his face._

Raphaëlle – Julius…

_She jumps down, with her Kushiro and Rhesus Blades in hand – and attacks._

Pontus – Raphaëlle, you came.

Raphaëlle – Leave.

_Pontus nods at her, nods at Gaia, and steps through the opening in the crowd._

Raphaëlle – Why?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ You should be thankful I left you those powers.

Raphaëlle – Th-thank you, but what can you hope to achieve?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ More than what you could. I am fully awake in this vessel.

Raphaëlle – What am I, then?

_Fade to black._

_Raphaëlle stares at the ceiling. She gets out of her bed, and walks around the house in her pyjamas. Player interaction ensues._

Raphaëlle – Home?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Please be silent.

_Pause._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ For eons, I scoured his planet, and hoped that I might find my vessel. When we finally communed, my thoughts could become actions.

_Raphaëlle finds dead Coralie on the staircase._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ I used you to utilize as much of my power as possible. I wanted everything to go smoothly for our permanent descent into the core of the planet – the one place where we would be safe.

_Raphaëlle finds dead Michel on the living room couch._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ I tried to help you when you lost yourself, but you did not listen. I shared the truth with you, but you were not willing to accept. Yet, somehow, you possessed the Apple.

_Raphaëlle finds dead Henri in the kitchen._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ It was then that I knew you betrayed me. I found other listeners. I found an allegiance in them.

_Raphaëlle finds dead Anna on the bed in her parents' bedroom._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ You lost everything. Yet, despite my kindness, you still displayed your own goals. I cannot accept them.

_Raphaëlle finds herself dead in the bathtub – drowning in blood. _

_Fade to black. _

_**BOSS – SHADOWJULIUS  
><strong>__Subject is an even further corrupt, twisted, monstrous form of the previous subject. His allegiances have taken control of the host, and evolved him into such a demon of dark magic, black ice, and electricity. The subject is bloodthirsty and savage. Due to the analyzed black ice attacks, the subject's vulnerability to fire has become a clear secondary vulnerability, alongside light. Due to the analyzed electric attacks, the subject's additional vulnerability is unknown, but the usual tactic might do in its stead. Proceed with caution._

Raphaëlle circled around the giant demon, who followed her intensely. SHADOWJULIUS extended his right arm, shook his electrically pulsing fingers, until a lightning bolt descended into his hand to forge a lightning sword. He attacked Raphaëlle. She dodged, and flew onto his shoulder to slice his neck. With several slivers leaving a mark, the giant jolted Raphaëlle off his body. He then hurled multiple black ice balls at her – most of which she avoided. Once SHADOWJULIUS finally hit her, he attacked with his lightning sword. Raphaëlle defended herself with her Kasan Suit. The giant blasted dark magic out of his mouth at her. She jumped backward. After avoiding the attack, Raphaëlle quickly returned to the giant's body, whereby she attacked his legs. Once he fell on one of his knees, an electric current flowed through the circular platform. Raphaëlle took to the air.

Raphaëlle avoided as much electrocution as possible. Following each sword attack, Raphaëlle performed a sword attack of her own at his arm – when electricity least flowed through his body. After several instances of avoiding and attacking, the giant's grip grew weak, and the lightning sword fell out of his hand. Raphaëlle severed his hand from the rest of his arm, and watched it drain of electricity. She then assaulted the other before he would attempt to be ambidextrous. SHADOWJULIUS anticipated this. He made the current in his grip stronger, while blasting dark magic at the demon girl. Surprised, she fell down, and landed flat on her face. The electric current jolted her back into the air. The rain poured harder. Thunder rumbled more frequently. The giant acquired his second lightning sword just in time. He attacked Raphaëlle with it, but she dodged, and stabbed him in the wrist. Large chunks of black ice spurted out the giant's mouth. Raphaëlle swooped down, and attacked his remaining leg. By chance, the internal black ice compounds froze fragments of SHADOWJULIUS' leg. While avoiding bolts of lightning, and electric charges, Raphaëlle weakened these fragments until his entire leg started to wobble and shake. After a dodged lightning sword attack, the giant bent his leg a bit too far, whereby both his knees rested on the large circular platform. During his groaning of pain, Raphaëlle attacked his weakening wrist, until all power was lost from it. However, the battle was still not over. The giant's Wings sprouted. With the storm continuing to worsen, SHADOWJULIUS soared into the clouds to heal and restore power. Raphaëlle, despite her vulnerability to electricity, chased after him.

Lightning bolt after lightning bolt came flashing from the heavens. Raphaëlle did her best to avoid them, and brutally attack SHADOWJULIUS before his strength could fully restore. Slowly, electricity flowed through his limbs once more – but Raphaëlle would not waste any more time with them. Instead, she attacked his neck. A mixture of blood and dark magic gushed out, and descended to the ground far below. More lightning struck. More to dodge. Hail then joined the rain. An angered giant, SHADOWJULIUS, charged electricity in one hand, and created a large sphere of black ice in the other. The ice was too large for Raphaëlle to dodge. She went tumbling down, and the electricity followed. Suffering from large amounts of electricity, and a lightning bolt, Raphaëlle was losing consciousness as she returned to the large circular platform. SHADOWJULIUS swooped down to catch her, much to her surprise. He went around, and hugged her from behind. This cushioned her fall. His Wings cracked from the fall. Raphaëlle got off, thanked him, and returned to battle. With hail and rain continuing to fall, and lightning to join, Raphaëlle arduously attempted to survive the fight, by shattering his Wings. Once he was finally without them, and both turned weak, the power of The Shadow suddenly flowed through both of them. They glowed tremendously blue. With a lightning sword in each of the giant's hand, Raphaëlle switched to her triumphant Kushiro Blade, and defended herself. However, when their blades collided, a connecting override of Shadow power created chaos.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ So long, Raphaëlle! You won't survive much longer!

Raphaëlle – Neither will you!

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Do you really think so?

Raphaëlle – Oh, I think so, Julius!

Rebecca (voice) – The Animus can't take much more! I'm getting you out of there ASAP.

_Fade to white._


	6. Assassins 2

Shaun – All right, kiddo. The Animus needs some quick repairs, so what do you say we go on a little adventure, yeah?

_The Initiate_ _gets out of the Animus._

Rebecca – It won't take too long. I work fast.

Shaun – We're going on a trip. Not a holiday, of course. We have to finish this first – but follow me.

_The Initiate follows Shaun and Rebecca out of the apartment, and to the van. The Initiate gets in the passenger seat. Shaun starts up the car, whereby they drive off. Rebecca is sitting in the back, and is using her computer to communicate with the Animus headgear. Shaun's cell phone rings._

Shaun – Hello?

_Pause._

Shaun – Oh, not too bad. Couple of Animus hiccups here and there, but it's okay. In fact, I got The Initiate in the van with me right now.

_Pause._

Shaun – Yep. Ciao.

_They hang up._

Shaun – That was William Miles, the Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood. You'll be meeting him shortly.

_Moments later, they arrive._

Shaun – Look at that: we're here!

_He turns off the engine, and gets out. The Initiate and Rebecca do too._ _They are a few blocks away from the Abstergo Entertainment skyscraper. They walk to a barren tunnel, where the river flows in-between to tall, long pathways._

Shaun – Surprised to be back here? I had a feeling you would. It turns out that the reason Abstergo picked this spot of land for Abstergo Entertainment is because there's actually a Temple beneath the ground. Our good friend, John—whom you, too, befriended—suffered that much from his illness because he was so close to home. We already found our passage into the Temple. I hope you're okay with rats – and by rats, I mean both literal rats and Templars, if we're lucky. Keep your guard up.

_They arrive at an Abstergo-labelled tunnel, and rendezvous with William. The lock is a number code plus an Apple of Eden registration._

William – Give me a second.

_He inserts the code, and then uses Desmond's Apple of Eden to enter the downward-diagonal tunnel._

William – Come along.

_They get on the platform, and ride it down to the bottom. William uses the Apple to get past the initial barrier. The wall slides into the ground. They walk past, and down the corridor – whereby they arrive at the Temple._

William – So, what seems to be the problem with the Animus?

Shaun – Well, whenever two forces of overpowering Shadow capabilities collide, the Animus doesn't respond very well.

Rebecca – It's not very stable.

Shaun – The first time, we were able to fix everything, in order to proceed – but this time just now, we had to pull out The Initiate. We had no other options.

_William nods._

William – We'll use Helix.

Shaun – Helix? The Abstergo Entertainment hardware?

Rebecca – Right, I'm sure they fixed all sorts of stuff for the people buying it! Don't want to sell video game systems that are broken, am I right?

William – The problem is that we went beyond what Abstergo is offering. Rebecca, we'll need you to mod our Helix to update the hardware, and let us progress from where your session ended.

Rebecca – I'm on it!

William – Shaun, keep me posted on updates.

Shaun – Will do.

William (to the Initiate) – It's nice to finally meet you.

_They shake hands._

William – Thank you for your help, Initiate. Just a reminder, before you return to your session: you still have Abstergo Entertainment access. If you're careful, you might be able to get us more information. If you're up for it, the tunnel is waiting for you. Otherwise, head straight into your next session.

_The Initiate returns to Rebecca. The Helix mod appears the same as the Animus: computer and headgear. Rebecca has Helix set up on her laptop, and on Shaun's – and its display on both the laptop screens, and on the headgear screen. The Initiate lays in the long chair, puts the headgear on, and waits for Helix to load._

"_Welcome to Helix! Loading game session."_

_Right before completion of loading, a voice speaks to The Initiate from within the hardware._

_**JUNO **_ My instrument, welcome. You and I are now connecting. You will help me be free.

Rebecca (voice) – Shit! Juno is in here!

_**JUNO **_ Do not fear me. I mean no harm. I just need your help – and I will guide you into the grey.


	7. SEQUENCE IV: Chase

**SEQUENCE IV: Chase**

_In central Deblana, the passing of time allows for calming – though all of Deblana remains under thorough guarding. As the view of the city's tall buildings descend to town center, Raphaëlle and SHADOWJULIUS are laying on the large circular platform in the city center. They are asleep. _

Rebecca (voice) – Until Juno brings you to where she wants you to go, you're stuck in the Animus. Therefore, you'll be in Raphaëlle's world for a bit.

_The giant's legs subconsciously loosens. This startles a group of crows, and causes them to caw, and fly away – which wakes both Raphaëlle and SHADOWJULIUS._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Looks like we both survived.

Raphaëlle – Yeah.

_Pause._

_He gets up._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Well, I'm getting out of here. Later.

_He flies away._

Raphaëlle – Julius, wait—!

_She gets up and sighs. The player gets control._

With how far Raphaëlle had come, it became clearer as to why Deblana was in such corruption. The people were under control of the Apple of Eden, and Pontus was their ruler. The King of the Underworld was also the King of Celtica. Two armadas in possession: one mortal, and one immortal. Raphaëlle was alone on Terra. Nowhere else to turn. Her world was in complete distraught. The one person she had left was the most corrupt of the humans, and she anticipated the rest of them would eventually fall under the same path. Under the mindset of the Apple, the people understood Raphaëlle as the enemy and bringer of chaos. In their minds, Raphaëlle was the cause for Deblana's destruction, and the world's. With an overcast sky, the demon girl flew onto a rooftop, and gazed at her surroundings. Where might she go next? Where might she find the slightest amount of peace? The city was too chaotic. The people frightened her. Somewhere in the hills, the outskirts, might suffice. Opposite the largest mountain in Deblana's countryside stood the decrepit castle. She wondered if anyone was there. With her Wings online, she soared to the castle. The closer she got, the more she noticed a change in interior lighting. She went investigating. Upon entering, guards stood their watch. Raphaëlle noted their routes, and remained hidden at one of the first of their posts. When the coast was clear, she stabbed the first through the torso with her Kushiro Blade, and laid him to the side. This continued she killed all of those that stood in her path. She climbed up to the third floor's interior balcony, and searched for her target – but they were nowhere in sight. Raphaëlle went investigating the basement. At the base of the staircase, to her left, was the wall that separated the basement from her former cell outside. Upon closer inspection of the walls, she realized the ancient monarchy kept one of the Shadow-created halls hidden. Down the long path, Pontus entered a hidden room, which could only open with a slot built for an Apple of Eden. Raphaëlle watched the wall slide up into the ceiling. She chased after – but she was too slow.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle bangs on the wall with her fists._

Raphaëlle – Open up!

_Meanwhile, Pontus, on the inside, uses the Apple to cause the central walls to descend. One of the visionaries, Leyla, is dormant. Pontus uses the Apple to awaken her mind._

Pontus – Submit…

_Leyla awakes, and feels the power._

Raphaëlle – Stop! What are you doing?

_Leyla feels two forces in her body: the Apple, and Raphaëlle. Leyla attempts to deny the latter, but accept the former. She extends her left arm, and reaches for Pontus' wrist._

Leyla – I… accept—

Pontus – —Thank you—

_Leyla tries her best to turn Pontus' arm toward the wall that Raphaëlle is banging._

Leyla – —what…Raphaëlle… wants.

_The wall slides up. Raphaëlle crouches, and gets into __**Terra Hall**__. _

Leyla – Attention! _(Watch out!)_

_Leyla quickly tries to move Pontus' arm out of the way, since he could easily use the Apple on Raphaëlle. He squeezes the Apple, and rids Raphaëlle of The Shadow's Aura._

Leyla – Vite! Tue-moi! _(Quick! __Kill me!)_

_Player interactivity ensues. Raphaëlle withdraws her Kushiro Blade, and runs to Leyla, whereby she stabs the visionary through the neck. The cutscene resumes. Upon extracting the blade, The Shadow's power returns. Pontus attacks Raphaëlle with the Apple, but nothing happens._

Pontus – What is going on?

"_**Trukama Blade **__online." Raphaëlle uses her new blade. Rather than the expected sword, the demon girl wields a moonlight sickle. Although the Trukama Blade is quite strong normally, it grows in strength even further, when outside at nighttime – the blade becomes a miniature moon powerhouse of its own. Raphaëlle takes this opportunity to escape. The player gets control._

Searching for more power to survive the Apple, Raphaëlle travelled up the staircase to reach the courtyards. As she hopped, ran, and climbed, she tried her best to avoid blasts of Precursor light. Destruction took place within the castle. Once a glass window was broken, Raphaëlle jumped out, and flew into the air. Her sickle shone a bright white, and mimicked the missing moon in the night sky.

_**PONTUS  
><strong>__Subject is—_

_A cutscene ensues._

_Arising through the fissures in the ground, SHADOWLEYLA appears. The monster approaches to aid Raphaëlle defeat the Precursor-powered antagonist. However, he uses the Apple of Eden on the monster to change her mindset. With SHADOWLEYLA a villain, and set on killing Raphaëlle, Pontus spreads his Wings, and flees. Raphaëlle watches him until he is no longer in sight. The player gets control._

_**SHADOWLEYLA  
><strong>__Subject is the corrupt remnant from the visionary's nightmares, with additional Precursor corruption. The subject displays a preference of darkness, thus making use of the Trukama Blade effective. The subject is capable of blasting dark magic. Avoid them. Proceed with caution._

The purple-and-white goliath crawled within the courtyards like a gorilla. Whenever she raised her body to blast dark magic from her hands, Raphaëlle had to be quick to dodge, and slash cuts at SHADOWLEYLA's pale stomach. The giant then blasted dark magic out of her mouth at Raphaëlle. Surprised, she jumped back, and ended up sitting on the grass. She got back up the moment SHADOWLEYLA went to punch her. Instead, the giant punched the ground. Raphaëlle used her shining Trukama Blade, and slashed away at the goliath's wrist, who was quick to punch with her other fist. Raphaëlle dodged, and repeated. After both were weaker, Raphaëlle flew up to the giant's shoulders, and attacked SHADOWLEYLA's neck. Black goo oozed out, rather than the expected blood. After the little surprise, the monster went to grab Raphaëlle off her shoulders. The demon girl dodged, and detached the giant's hand, by the wrist. More black goo came out, albeit out of the wrist instead. Raphaëlle jumped back down onto the grass, and awaited the next assault. The monster swooped her arm down, to grab and squeeze Raphaëlle. After a bit of entanglement, the giant tossed Raphaëlle onto the castle rooftop. SHADOWLEYLA blasted a series of dark magic spheres out of her remaining hand, and her mouth. Half of them hit her, while she dodged the other half. The instant the monster finished, Raphaëlle jumped down to land on the giant's shoulders, but SHADOWLEYLA was quick to protect herself with her large half-pink-half-white hand, and dark magic forming within. Raphaëlle, instead, aimed for the wrist, whereby she slashed away until the monster was without both hands. SHADOWLEYLA then fell backward, and landed on her back. Raphaëlle lunged downward, and repeatedly stabbed the monster in the heart until she had slayed the beast. With the nuisance defeated, Raphaëlle left the castle grounds, and scoured Deblana for her next destination. _"Apple of Eden activity located."_ Raphaëlle swiftly had a destination – the center of the city. The platform on which she and SHADOWJULIUS had fought. She went there – and, just as in Terra Hall, Pontus was ahead of the game. With his Apple, Pontus activated a tunnel at the very center of the platform. Raphaëlle swooped down to enter the tunnel – but something stopped her, and delayed her trip.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle lands adjacent to the closing tunnel. She crouches down, and gazes at the black notebook laying on the ground. It looks so familiar. She goes to pick it up, but a sudden gust of wind causes the book to open, and the pages to turn. After it turns to the last page, she picks it up, and looks through it. __She notices the Ouroboros. _

Raphaëlle – Est-ce que c'est le même cahier? Comment est-il arrivé ici? _(Is this the same notebook? How did it get here?)_

_She flips through the pages. All of them are empty._

Raphaëlle – Les souvenirs. Où sont-ils? Il n'y a rien dans ce cahier! _(The memories. Where are they? There is nothing in this book!)_

_Pause._

Raphaëlle – Lumière et l'ombre sont les deux faces de la même pièce. Une ne peut pas exister sans l'autre. _(Light and shadow are two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other.)_

_Nothing happens. Nevertheless, she takes it with her, and swan dives down the tunnel at the last minute. Only regal people can access this tunnel. The alteration in gravity disorients her a little bit, but it does not have much effect. Regardless, she arrives within Enfical Depths. The player gets control._

Swimming through the catacombs of red, Raphaëlle wandered through the available paths. Her new Trukama Blade allowed her to traverse in various directions. Aquatic monsters swam about. Raphaëlle tried to ignore them, and search for Pontus. As the search continued, Raphaëlle wondered about the sudden change in her relationship with The Shadow. It had so suddenly defected to one of her enemies, Julius. Not someone she ever expected to call _"enemy"_. Though The Shadow's infestation enshrouded Julius' memories and nightmares, the infestation grew even worse with the assistance of the Apple. For once, Raphaëlle feared the Apple's power. She was worried what other uses it might take throughout the rest of the adventure. In addition, why would she continue to wield its power? Why did The Shadow not extract all these abilities? As she continued to progress through the bloody catacombs, she questioned Pontus' decisions to infiltrate Terra Hall, and what he hoped to gain from Leyla. This made Raphaëlle ponder the visionaries and their existence. Raphaëlle and the antagonists both saw these visionaries – she experienced two scenarios with them. This became questionable, since Raphaëlle had previously thought only she could see them. Her sanity and state of mind returned to the equation. Who was she anymore? Was she even real? Why even fight? Why was the adventure even happening? She could not help but question everything about her, and everything that has become of her. The entire planet had changed. Such a large chunk was missing. All at her expense? Was she to blame for Terra's destruction – or The Shadow? Who was the bringer of chaos? Was it her who changed? Did The Shadow make the right decision of choosing Julius over her? These thoughts overwhelmed her. She did not need to think of it too much. She needed to bring an end to what she and The Shadow had started. Whether she was to blame, she felt it her duty to save the world – whatever was left of it. Everything was different. Nothing was the same. She was alone. She did not like that. She missed her family profoundly. She missed her house, her school, and her friends. Everyone was gone. Even she, in a sense. Regardless, she needed to stop Pontus, Gaia, The Shadow, and even Julius. It was her ultimate decision. She continued swimming through the blood, and killing the monsters in her way. She would not let her enemies get away so easily. She needed to deal with them. As she continued to scour Enfical Depths, she eventually came across **Hydra Hall** – though inaccessible. Raphaëlle did not possess the requirements to proceed. Certainly, if Pontus had come this way, he might have used the Apple of Eden to disable the shields preventing access – but they were intact. Raphaëlle gazed around, until she eventually found Pontus on the other side of a bloodfall. Blood poured from a cliff above like water. She let her body get drenched in red, and stared at him – standing.

_A cutscene ensues._

Raphaëlle – Pontus. I found you, at last.

_Pontus keeps his back facing her, and does not speak._

Raphaëlle – Why are you so quiet, all of a sudden?

_More silence._

Raphaëlle – The Shadow speaks to you. I can see that in the way your head twitches.

Pontus – Be gone!

_He squeezes the Apple. Duplicates of Pontus form a circle, with the real Pontus somewhere within. _

Pontus – Fight, my brethren!

_He squeezes the Apple. They all withdraw peculiar swords – Precursor swords. Swords of Eden. Raphaëlle withdraws her Rhesus and Kushiro Blades. The player gets control._

_**EDENPONTUS  
><strong>__Subjects are fragments of the creator's corrupt mind, as controlled by the Apple of Eden. Due to the preference of light, finding a vulnerability of darkness is viable. However, the suitable blade is not in your current possession. Proceed with caution._

Raphaëlle decided she would endure the pain. No matter how badly the battle's results would be. She began with her Kushiro Blade, and attacked the nearest Pontus clone of six. Though they weakened, they did not weaken much. Raphaëlle assumed the hidden blade in Umbra Hall to be even better. She also assumed she would not acquire it for a while, regardless. After some time spent with the standard sword combination, she activated her Kasan Suit. With flames engulfing her body, Raphaëlle performed heated damage to the second Pontus clone. Just as before – very little weakening. The Aisu Suit to the third. Her swords were cold to the touch. A chilly breath effect surrounded the blades. Ice crystals garnished the third clone's skin, just like burns on the second. The sword of blood, the Rhesus Blade, was one of the sharper blades. It performed the most damage out of all. However, due to the entities not being real, she could not collect blood, and heal from them. She had a moonlight sickle remaining, and she was curious to see how it would perform. She switched her Kushiro Blade out for her new Trukama Blade. The power of light had no effect on another power of light. She returned to her Kushiro Blade, and fought them until they were as weakened as much as they possibly could be.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Enduring an arduous, annoying battle, the clones nearly kill Raphaëlle – with the power of their Swords of Eden. Electricity surges out of their blades like lightning. This causes Raphaëlle to launch down, and slide her back along the river floor. Her vision impairs, and her heart rate decreases tremendously, but The Shadow saves her, surprisingly. "Vital Restoration activated". Raphaëlle's vision returns. Her heart rate returns to normal – but the EDENPONTUS are gone. Raphaëlle goes chasing through Enfical Depths for the real Pontus. The player gets control._

The aquatic trek through Enfical Depths continued. Raphaëlle swam high and low through the caves and catacombs, and even used Demon Vision, in order to search for Pontus. She avoided the restless wildlife, and simply progressed through the depths. She needed to find the King of the Underworld. Once she was getting closer to the beach shore, Raphaëlle saw Pontus. She swam as fast as she could, caught up to him, and managed to stab him through the knee – only to watch dissipation, and realize it had been an EDENPONTUS. Another approached the shore. Pontus created these duplicates to make his escape cleaner for him, and more of a nuisance for his enemy. Regardless, since he had been using so much of the Apple's power in this short amount of time, these duplicates weakened with each creation. Upon arriving at Enfical proper, Raphaëlle saw the real Pontus travel down the tunnel to The Underworld. Raphaëlle soared there, and chased after him. Rather than just one duplicate per interval, since they were weakening, Pontus created a barrier of three. Raphaëlle sliced their heads off, only to find another three. Again, she sliced, but Pontus would not give up. The EDENPONTUS were the only things keeping him safe for the time being. However, no matter how many of them would defend him, Raphaëlle would slaughter all of his creations. It was only a matter of time for them to soar out of the tunnel, and arrive at The Underworld. They flew across the bridge, but it was a lure. Pontus withdrew his Sword of Eden—something he had never revealed to be in his possession—and electrified the entire bridge with a jolt of lightning from the blade. The lure worked to his advantage, since Raphaëlle was hopping along the bridge pillars, and his timing was perfect. Raphaëlle plunged into the river.

_A cutscene ensues._

_All vision is black. The sound of the river is abundant in Raphaëlle's ears. Her eyes begin to open, as she realizes where she is, and returns to consciousness. She swims up, and stares at Pontus – who is standing at the edge of the steel-plated molten rock platform. He points his Sword of Eden at her, as well as the Apple. He uses the last of the Apple's power to separate The Shadow's remains from Raphaëlle._

Pontus – The Shadow shows mercy and remorse. How amusing.

Raphaëlle – Give it back!

Pontus – Look at yourself, Raphaëlle. You're useless without it. You need that power.

Raphaëlle – Just like you need those Pieces of Eden.

_He chuckles. _

Pontus – As ruler of both Celtica and The Underworld, I order you to return to your prison cell as my slave.

_With a little juice left in the Apple of Eden, Raphaëlle rises from the river. She hovers in front of him, with the Apple and Sword both pointed at her. He gives it a squeeze, whereby she disappears, and leaves light blue particles behind. The Apple becomes transparent._

Pontus – Farewell, Raphaëlle. Until next time.

_Fade to black._

_Raphaëlle awakes in her prison cell. Three fragments of The Shadow—embodied as humanoid, demonic Julius—stand in their respective cells._

_**SHADOW001**_ Do you wish to escape, my dear Raphaëlle?

_Raphaëlle goes to open her mouth to speak, but blood pours out. More blood drips from her eye sockets, and from her nostrils. _

_**SHADOW002**_ Very well.

_**SHADOW003**_ Just this once.

_The cell door faintly glows blue, and opens. Raphaëlle takes a few steps forward, and begins to hear the heavy rain, and thunder. The player gets control._

Raphaëlle, mortal and hopeless, slowly walked out of the underground prison in Deblana. There was nothing left of her. Despite her complete lack of her powers, The Shadow still visited to her – just as it did their first encounter on the fractured planet. She did not care about the future. She did not care about the past. Raphaëlle just wanted to walk, and walk, and walk. She wanted to let the rain infest her body. She felt no hope. She felt no strength. She was just content that she was still alive. She could have easily asked why Pontus let her live, but she was in no mood to ask questions. She just wanted to indulge in the thunderstorm; she just wanted to absorb the rain. Of all the things that satisfied her most, she was human. Whatever those powers did to her, she could not truly feel anything. She did not exist to anyone, unless they, too, possessed The Shadow's Aura. For the first time in months, she could finally, truly feel the rain drench her hair and skin. She walked around the castle. She did not go in just yet. Nor did she embark further into the city. She would not let the tranquility end. The Apple-allegiant guards would kill her instantaneously. That would not bode well for her. As her bare feet touched the luscious, wet grass, memories of her childhood rushed back to her. The more she thought about them, the more she realized just how much she missed her family and friends. All of those that died because of her and The Shadow. Before entering the castle, she took a big deep breath on the porch. She turned on the light in the foyer, and slowly walked inside. Her feet dampened the carpet, and made noises on the floor. She walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw the water-dried blood on her face. She picked up a small towel, and wiped her face. She looked at the red on the towel, and reminded herself of the time she first saw The Shadow in the mirror at home.

Henri – Presque fini là-dedans? _(Almost done in there?)_

Raphaëlle – Quoi? Oh, oui. _(What? Oh, yes.)_

Taking one last look in the mirror, Raphaëlle expected to see her demonic self on the other side – but nobody was there. She looked down at the towel, but nothing was on it. She put it back on the towel rack, and grabbed the larger one. She used it both to dry herself off, as well as to cover her torso. She wrapped her towel around her petite body, and exited the bathroom. Henri was standing just around the corner. She smiled lightly, and then walked to her bedroom. She closed the door, locked it, and let her towel fall off. Stomach-first, she let herself fall on the bed. She gave her mattress a giant hug. She was so happy to be home. It was very late. She yawned, and then crawled under the blanket. She did not care if she would have nightmares. She cozied herself in – and, shortly thereafter, fell asleep.

Morning rose. Sol shined brightly into her room. Raphaëlle stretched her body, and attempted to recollect her dreams – but she could not remember even one. Strange. She got up, and put her pyjamas on. She did not want to enter the kitchen nude. Especially not while a guest was over. She left her bedroom, and went up the stairs to the kitchen. Coralie was busy putting jam on her two slices of toast. They ignored each other, as usual. Raphaëlle let her two toasts toast. She searched the pantry for peanut butter. After finding the container, she grabbed a plate and knife, and set everything properly on the counter. The toast promptly finished toasting. Raphaëlle took them out, and placed them on a plate. As she began making her breakfast, Coralie left to eat hers in the living room. Once Raphaëlle finished, and had poured herself a glass of milk, she decided she would return to her room – but the silence shortly stopped her. Upon hearing the television turn on, Raphaëlle was quick to ask where their parents and Henri were. _« À l'hôpital » ("At the hospital")_, Coralie muttered. Raphaëlle paused, and thought a moment as to why that might be the case. She then realized, _« Une crise cardiaque__… »_ _"Heart attack…" _Coralie nodded, with a mouth full of toast. Raphaëlle turned around, and returned to her room. She sat, and ate her breakfast in peace. The image of his former demise repeated in her mind throughout her breakfast session. She could still see the eruption of blood exit his mouth, and enter the sink. She would never forget what The Shadow did to her.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle finishes her breakfast. She takes her glass, and drinks some milk. She recollects her experiences in this house. She blankly stares at her closet while doing so. She recalls the day that of her mother's death. Upon snapping out of her memories, she walks to the closet, and slowly opens it. Just as on that day, she sees The Shadow. Only this time it is different. The Shadow is merely a blue aura. Her power, embodied in her demonic shape. She reaches for it, but nothing is solid. She briefly wonders how she might get her powers back, when she hears her parents enter the house. She closes the closet door, and races upstairs. Upon seeing them, she wraps an arm around each of them, and squeezes them tight._

Anna – Oh! Raphaëlle! As-tu vraiment nous manquer que beaucoup? _(Oh! Raphaëlle! Did you really miss us that much?)_

Raphaëlle – Désolé. C'est juste— C'est vraiment bon de vous voir. _(Sorry. It's just— It's really good to see you.)_

Michel – Nous avons acheté des beignets pendant que nous étions partis. Donc, je vais juste les placer sur le comptoir de la cuisine et vous pouvez vous aider. _(We bought doughnuts while we were out. So, I'm just going to place them on the kitchen counter, and you can help yourselves.)_

_Raphaëlle gives them another squeeze._

Raphaëlle – J'aime vous deux! _(__I love you two!)_

_They both say, « Je t'aime, aussi » ("I love you, too") simultaneously. After Raphaëlle lets go, Michel goes into the kitchen. Raphaëlle turns around to follow and get doughnuts, when Anna takes her hand, and stops her. Raphaëlle turns back._

Anna – Henri n'a pas survécu. _(Henri didn't make it.)_

Raphaëlle – Oh, non! _(Oh, no!)_

Anna – _Ceci_ est son urne. _(This is his urn.)_

_Anna brings her left arm around from her back, and reveals an Apple of Eden._

Raphaëlle – Cela n'est pas une urne. _(That's not an urn.)_

Anna – Qu'est-ce que tu es en essayant de me dire? _(What are you trying to tell me?)_

_Raphaëlle slowly takes the Apple in both hands._

Raphaëlle – C'est une— _(That's an—)_

_The Apple activates._

Raphaëlle – Une— _(An—)_

_Raphaëlle's horns, Wings, tail, and scaly skin all return. The world around her becomes completely blue. She turns back, in the direction of the kitchen – but she is instead hovering in mid-air, at the entrance to downtown Ville de Marie, which began transforming into that from 80,000 years ago. "__**Dragon**__ online." Raphaëlle suddenly transforms into a dragon. She begins flying. The player gets control._

Rebecca (voice) – What is this?

Shaun (voice) – Our Initiate is inside a Time Anomaly. For whatever reason, Juno is giving Raphaëlle her powers back.

Rebecca (voice) – Not just that, though! She's a dragon!

Shaun (voice) – Indeed. Juno is displaying these Time Anomalies to Raphaëlle in a form that is much simpler and faster.

William (voice) – Why is Juno even doing this in the first place?

Shaun (voice) – I have no idea – but, whatever the case, the more of this adventure we complete, the closer we will be to stopping Juno.

Rebecca (voice) – Also, a side note, Initiate: humans and demons alike are in these Time Anomalies. They'll be standing in your way, as you reach for the Time Fissure at the end. If you cycle through your weapons, you can change what kind of dragon you are. For example, if you equip the Aisu Suit, you'll be an Ice Dragon. All right, enough chatter.

Dragon Raphaëlle flies through an ancient, yet high-tech, realm of her home city. Surprised and confused, her thought-filled mind became a distraction in her flight. She felt a presence inside of her, and all around her. It demanded she follow, and follow she did. The demons and humans, those that stood under Pontus' command, infested the downtown area. They stood not only as people, but also as monsters and machines, respectively. Raphaëlle was not the only thing airborne in the city. Noticing many with a certain trait, the dragon asserted their vulnerability, and attacked the monsters and machinery to bits. She could stay behind long – a force kept pulling her forward. She left behind quite a bit of destruction. Skyscrapers had some of their windows shattered. Those she slaughtered crash-landed either on the rooftops or on the streets. Raphaëlle was causing chaos – but it did not last long.

The force shortly brought her out of the city, and out to the countryside. However, this did not mean the humans and demons kept silent. Rather, they followed, approached, and attacked. Though the flight was annoying, Raphaëlle still managed to find advantages. The flight even took place at night. The dragon was soon approaching the Time Fissure – and as the end grew nearer and nearer, Raphaëlle realized her destination: her grandmother's house, though from eighty-thousand years ago. As Dragon Raphaëlle got closer and closer to the Time Fissure, the world around her began to revert to its current time period status. Anna's mother's house appeared from the formation of blue particles – and as did everything else on the property. Raphaëlle swan dove into her grandmother's swimming pool, with the Time Fissure at the bottom.

_A cutscene ensues._

_She leaves behind her dragon form, and closes her eyes. There is a sudden stillness. The sound of the pool water fills her mind. She opens her eyes, but all is red. She feels a certain power suddenly attach to her. She rises from the river of lava and blood, and hovers in mid-air – in front of Pontus. _

Pontus – The Shadow shows mercy and remorse. How amusing.

_He squeezes the Apple one last time, but it displays no effect on Raphaëlle. The Apple, now without power, disintegrates to blue particles._

Pontus – What? Why won't your power separate from your body?

_Raphaëlle brings her Apple of Eden from around her back, and reveals its activation. She uses it on Pontus, which causes him to go flying back onto his throne. She flies onto the throne platform, and uses the Apple once more to knock him into a coma._

Raphaëlle – Doux rêves, Pontus. _(Sweet dreams, Pontus.)_

_Fade to black._


	8. SEQUENCE V: Retaliation

**SEQUENCE V: Retaliation**

_Gaia is on her knees, in front of unconscious Pontus. She holds his hands, keeps her head down, and weeps._

Gaia – My love—! How could she? She has ruined us! We try to show her the wrong in her ways, and she consistently fights back. Our enemy must not keep fighting. Pontus, my dear, sweet son—whom I love so much—I swear she will be dead when you awake.

_She rubs her hands up Pontus' arms to his upper back. She brings him closer. She takes her right hand, and gently opens his mouth. She inserts her tongue into her son's mouth, and kisses him passionately. _

_Fade to black._

_Gaia stands at the top of the twin bell towers to exclaim the peoples' status in this war. _

Gaia – People!

_She tries to get their attention amidst the loud chatter._

Ty'poni – Where's our king? Where's Pontus?

Gaia (to Ty'poni) – I'm getting to that, sir.

Gaia (to everyone) – People, if I could have your attention!

_The crowd noise gradually dimmers. _

Gaia – Thank you. It appears that our enemy has temporarily ended my son's life. I will not stand by, and let her recklessly slaughter those that stand in her way – just so that she can put an end to us! We will fight back, and in greater numbers! The promise I made to the love of my life is this: when he awakes from his coma, the demon girl will be dead.

_The crowd starts chatting again. The player gets control._

Raphaëlle stood at the bottom of the twin bell towers. Demonic guards patrolled almost every section of the building. While the crowd was busy chatting, Raphaëlle found it a perfect time to sneak up to the top, and finally kill Gaia. First, she killed the demons surrounding the castle. She had to sidle along the walls, in order to avoid detection from the demons higher up. Once the ground guards were dead, Raphaëlle climbed up the leftmost tower, hung on the ledge, and awaited a demon to approach – at which point, she would stab him, and toss him off the building. While the other guard faced away from her, she snuck over—all while avoiding the guards' detection within the other tower—and killed the other demon. When all was fine, Raphaëlle hopped over to the other side, and did roughly the same. One guard, however, detected her – and the bell began to ring. Gaia was too busy trying to get the people to silence, and had her ears filled with their talking, that she did not realize the bell was ringing. Raphaëlle climbed up to the top from within, killing demons from ledges along the way, and then hopped over to the leftmost tower, just as she did on the previous level. Once all the guards inside were killed, she made her way to the exterior, and climbed up to the rooftop ledge. She killed the archer demons that protected their ruler, Gaia. She remained on the ledge, hopping over to the other rooftop, in order to kill them all. When all were dead, she climbed up to assassinate Gaia for good.

_A cutscene ensues._

Gaia – I knew you would show.

_She withdraws her Sword of Eden, turns around, and points the tip at Raphaëlle._

Gaia – I think it's time I make that promise right here and now.

_She uses the Sword's lightning capability to electrocute Raphaëlle, but it does nothing._

Raphaëlle – I don't think so.

_Raphaëlle withdraws her Rhesus and Kushiro Blades. She licks the blood off the Rhesus Blade._

Raphaëlle – Let's make this bloody.

_Gaia hops over to the other rooftop, which Raphaëlle is on, and starts fencing. After a few stabs to each of them, Raphaëlle trips on the ledge. After avoiding a major attack, she slides off the roof. Raphaëlle hangs on tight to the ledge. Gaia walks closer, and holds out her hand. Raphaëlle hesitates._

Gaia – Take my hand. It's okay.

_Raphaëlle sighs, and takes her hand. Gaia lifts her up halfway, takes the Apple of Eden, and lets Raphaëlle plummet to the ground. SHADOWJULIUS arrives, via the tunnel. Gaia clones him, but the clones are of his humanoid form. Raphaëlle walks backward into the crowd. The six EDENJULIUS follow. The player gets control._

_**EDENJULIUS  
><strong>__Subjects are the creations of the Apple wielder, Gaia. Regardless of their control and service, they each wield a Sword of Eden – to aid them in unleashing this power. Due to the original subject's vulnerability being light, and the present subjects' vulnerabilities being dark or shadow, the subjects are vulnerable to a much wider range of weaponry than even the EDENPONTUS. However, this allows them to strengthen their defences. Proceed with caution._

Raphaëlle attacked the nearest demon with her Kushiro Blade. He blocked the attack with the side of his blade, and some pushing force. Raphaëlle, pushed back, swung for another slicing attack, and rid the first EDENJULIUS of an arm. She expected him to cry in pain, but these demons were not mortal; they were creations of the ancient Precursor race. Distracted, the second demon ran forth for an attacked, and gave Raphaëlle a gash on the left side of her torso. She jumped back, and briefly held her cut. She could feel the blood – something the others did not have. Raphaëlle attacked the second EDENJULIUS. Flames engulfed her body, with the Kasan Suit online. She enflamed multiple parts of the demon's body, with each slice. Once she burned and charred him to a nice crisp, Raphaëlle removed the demon of his head. Another suit change, and a frigid, icy Aisu Suit challenged the third EDENJULIUS. Raphaëlle avoided the demon's strong attacks, and managed to freeze and stun him in place. Before he would thaw from The Underworld's heat, Raphaëlle stabbed him through the heart. The demon girl was half done. She used her Rhesus Blade, and fenced with the fourth EDENJULIUS. They blocked each swing and attack. They held their grip with both hands firmly placed on their respective hilts. Push and pull; they went back and forth. Eventually, Raphaëlle's strength came through, and managed to succeed. The demon lost a third of his torso. The fifth EDENJULIUS stood directly behind the fallen second. He blasted lightning from his sword, which Raphaëlle was quick to dodge. Another lightning bolt and another dodge. Raphaëlle tried her best to avoid all of the electric attacks. When she finally found an opening, she lunged forward, and stabbed the demon through the stomach with her Trukama Blade –supercharged and shining bright, thanks to the completely open sky that Lune left behind. The final EDENJULIUS awaited. Only, he was the true EDENJULIUS.

_A cutscene ensues._

_He uses his dark magic on Gaia to stun and weaken her. She stutters in her step, trips, and deactivates the Apple of Eden. Simultaneously, while launching the first sphere of dark magic in one hand, Julius activates the tunnel to Séain with another blast. He briefly transforms into a congregation of bats, all stuck together at the core of his body, and flies past Raphaëlle. He makes his escape. Confused, Raphaëlle briefly stares down the tunnel, until she finally snaps out of it. She takes one quick look at groaning Gaia, and then follows Julius, who reverts to SHADOWJULIUS during her glimpse at Gaia. The player gets control._

The demon girl followed one of her enemies, who already had quite the head start. His actions toward Gaia made Raphaëlle question his motives. She wondered why he proceeded with such a tactic, and why he chose to fly away. Raphaëlle was very confused. Throughout the duration of the descent, which became an ascent, there was a worrisome silence. Raphaëlle was in a great enough distance from her enemy, thus they could not really hold a conversation. However, upon the alteration in gravity, the occasional bat flew toward the demon girl to attack. Raphaëlle killed the annoying pests in a single slice. They began flying to her individually – but after a while, they flew in pairs, and then in threes. The closer she got to the end of the tunnel, the more bats there were. Some even left behind collectibles. _"41/100 collected." _Once she finally reached Séain, SHADOWJULIUS was already flying into the distance. She could faintly see his shadow on the snow until his altitude went higher. What was a friendship—one in love, and the other trying to learn about herself and her future—became a rivalry, and made them enemies. They each saw their own paths – each with their own philosophies and visions. _"New locations unlocked. Mapping route for fast travel." _The robotic voice notified Raphaëlle of her next destinations. Upon glancing at them from her map, the demon girl noted their locations to be at the bottom of the three large, cylindrical chambers from her initial travel through Séain. Raphaëlle descended from the mountain on which she stood, and entered the smaller section of the ruins. She recalled the forth to contain a golem, which effectively was named _"Golem Hall"_, and given a tunnel platform. However, her destinations were the three before it. Water filled all three of them with a slippery glaze of ice. It had been a while since Raphaëlle last stepped through Séain. For what it was, she found the place peaceful. She effectively burned and slaughtered the ice monsters with her Kasan Suit. Since her last trek through the snow and ice, Raphaëlle realized just how much stronger she was getting. The monsters she encountered were dying much faster than they used to. Her power in wielding suits and swords were much greater. She did not worry too much about dying. Raphaëlle practically sped her way through to her first destination.

She arrived at the first hall. She melted the ice with flame, and then dived into the deep pool of ice water. Raphaëlle swam all the way to the bottom, and found a Trukama Blade lock. With use of her Submerged Magnetism, she stood on the floor of the pool, and unlocked her next location. After unlocking, she traversed through the submerged cavern. Aqueous and electric monsters awaited her. None of her blades would suffice. Raphaëlle made sure to avoid them, and make her way to the other side of the cavern. The deeper she swam, the darker it got. Demon Vision would not bring about enough light for her. Rather, she followed the walls of the cavern until she reached the Trukama Blade lock on the other side, which led to the second cylindrical hall. A larger amount of monsters awaited her within the pool – but it was brighter in the open space. The light grew darker once more upon entering the second cavern. Raphaëlle experienced it even more in the final cavern, which led to a portal of sorts. The demon girl swam into the shimmering red light. She arrived in **Enfical Depths East**, with the aforementioned Hydra Hall dividing east from west. _"New passage discovered."_ Raphaëlle continued to swim. She explored the new area, while also searching for her means of access into Hydra Hall. Raphaëlle did not possess the correct weaponry, even on the eastern side. Regardless, she found several submerged caves in which to swim and fight monsters. Upon further swimming, or magnetically walking, through Enfical Depths East, a new notification alerted Raphaëlle. _"Visionary catacomb located. Mapping route for fast travel."_ Raphaëlle followed the route. She swam a little bit deeper, until she arrived at a secluded catacomb entrance. She entered. Though most catacombs appeared as mere passageways to Enfical proper above, some served a greater purpose. **Hydra Catacomb**, for example.

_A cutscene ensues. _

_Raphaëlle magnetically stands at the bottom of the submerged section of the catacomb. She looks up, and notices a complex voyage to the surface, and even the paths above that to her ultimate destination far above. The player gets control._

An upgrade conveniently awaited Raphaëlle at the bottom of the catacomb, near where she entered. _"Diving offline. Wings offline." _Visionary catacombs were trials. They needed to act as a challenge to test the person's skill, in order to reach the treasure far at the top. It would be far too simple to swim and fly through the catacomb to acquire the treasure. It required more skill than that. The upgrade, which stood in front of Raphaëlle, would aid her in reaching the top. However, before she could even pick it up, an earthquake began to take place. Cracks and fissures wrecked the smooth ground of the submerged catacomb. They grew even larger toward the center, where the upgrade was. A large monstrous head merged from the large, dark abyss at the center. With a wide-open mouth, the monster swallowed Raphaëlle's upgrade, and then crawled out of the abyss. Slaying the beast was Raphaëlle's next task in her adventure. She took a long look at the goliath. Eight eyes all grouped together. Algae decorated her large black body. Electric juice dripped from its tongue, pointy teeth, and fingertips. Electricity housed its body. In addition, the goliath tended to prefer a four-legged stance, but was easily capable of standing on her hind legs and attack. Spikes housed the sides of its legs. All of the nightmare goliaths thus far were huge and bulky, but this one appeared more ravenous. Raphaëlle stayed cautious, with her Kushiro Blade in hand.

_**SHADOW**__**ÍDE**__**  
><strong>__Subject is the corrupt nightmare form of the visionary, __Íde._ _Subject prefers the darkness to attack prey, but will inhabit the light, under certain circumstances. When visible to all, the subject attacks aggressively. Electricity flows through both her teeth and spikes__. Subject remains on the river floor because of Submerged Magnetism. Due to not possessing the vulnerable blade, ice attacks are an apt replacement. Proceed with caution._

The goliath charged straight for Raphaëlle. She quickly embodied her Aisu Suit, and slowed the monster down by attacking her legs. The demon girl held on tight to a frozen section of a leg to avoid a possible chomp. The ice protected Raphaëlle from the poison-laced spikes. _"Diving online."_ The Shadow's Aura re-granted her the ability to swim freely through the red to slay the monster, which clasped her legs together to shatter the layer of ice. Raphaëlle swam higher up, while attempting to avoid the spikes. The goliath quickly spun around, and stood on her hind legs to attack with her claws and bite. Raphaëlle dodge and froze one claw, but was attacked by the other. In addition, she mostly avoided the bite, but the monster managed to grab Raphaëlle's foot. She did her best to wiggle herself free from the monster's mouth. She could already feel herself weakening. Before allowing SHADOWÍDE to shatter the ice off one of her claws, Raphaëlle quickly chopped it off at the wrist. The monster shouted in pain. During her shout, Raphaëlle quickly swam over to the other claw, charged the ice within her suit and blades, and sliced off the other claw. Both claws flashed with electricity, then. Raphaëlle had to be doubly careful. SHADOWÍDE pounced onto all fours. Raphaëlle was further up. The monster charged straight for her again, in an attempt to slam the demon girl's entire body against the cavernous wall. Raphaëlle dodged, and grabbed onto one of the monster's horns instead. With as strong a force as possible, the demon girl thrust her Kushiro and Rhesus Blades into all of the monster's eyes – and filled her eye sockets with blood.

_A cutscene ensues._

_SHADOWÍDE rides around the base of the catacomb, and attempts to find a wall for a similar attack as earlier. Raphaëlle holds on tight to one of the monster's horns with one hand, while continually stabbing her through the neck. The ultimate slam against the wall causes the less-observant Raphaëlle to fall off, as well as the monster's head. Electric juice pours out of SHADOWÍDE's throat – and, along with it, the upgrade. As Raphaëlle gets back up on her feet, she starts to limp. The juice begins to take a greater effect. The Shadow's Aura holds off on activating Vital Restoration until she steps through the yellow to get the upgrade. After stepping beyond the puddle, with "__**Buoyancy**__ online", the healing process begins. The player gets control._

_"Diving offline."_ With the new upgrade, Raphaëlle was capable of completing the visionary catacomb trial. Using only her eyes, she discovered her path to lead her high into the distance. Her eyes followed that path from the highest point she could see to the cavern in front of her. Raphaëlle made her way to the cavern, and walked upward and around to the other side. Platforms stood at the center of the cylindrical catacomb. With Buoyancy online, Raphaëlle became more lightweight when submerged in a body of water, lava, or blood. Although her Wings were offline and tucked away, a light brush, of a dark purple colour, garnished the edges to indicate that Buoyancy was functioning. She used it to be able to hop across the platforms to the other side – something that she could not do before. The thought of its use outside the catacomb made Raphaëlle wonder what she might be able to explore. She continued her trek through the caverns, and across the platforms. The occasional monster walked or swam through the caverns. Some produced dark magic; some produced ice; some produced electricity. Raphaëlle killed those that were weak to her present weaponry. After an arduous climb through the submerged portion, Raphaëlle reached the dry portion. She glanced up again, and tried to search for the path to the top. Upon finding it, her eyes followed the path back down to its start. She noticed demons patrolling the catacombs. These visionary places were sacred. Due to the demons that walked within, she understood the importance of these catacombs. Raphaëlle climbed up the platforms, used the metal bars to swing across to a wall with indents, and climbed the wall.

A pair of demons marched back and forth. Raphaëlle knew she could not kill one while the other was also facing her direction. She waited until one faced away, killed the one demon, and then tossed him into the drink. She waited for the other, and did the same. She then climbed up, and walked through the bat-infested cavern. It was inclined, thus Raphaëlle was getting higher up. After killing the bats, she went to swing across the bars, but stopped. Guards patrolled near the balcony quite rigorously. Raphaëlle waited behind the cavern wall for an opening, to avoid getting spotted, and then swung her way across. One after the other, the dying demons fell down into the river. Raphaëlle continued climbing, swinging, hopping, and stealthily walking until she arrived at the top. A new weapon and a sarcophagus awaited. Raphaëlle took the weapon first. _"__**Inazuma Suit**__ offline."_ With the new ability of blasting powerful electric attacks, Raphaëlle would soon become stronger. She then opened the sarcophagus. Within it was a **Crystal Skull** – a Piece of Eden. _"1/6 found. Wings online. Diving online." _After collecting the skull, an arch opened in the wall. A staircase to the outdoors. She went outside, and arrived at the top floor balcony of yet another Shadow-created facility. She wound up in **Enfical East**. A skywalk connected the two facilities. Within the eastern facility was a tunnel platform. From the top floor, the platform could ride the rails across the skywalk, as well as descend to Hydra Hall. Luckily, Raphaëlle had the Inazuma Suit – the key to unlocking further access. The lock acknowledged her new upcoming power, during her descent into Hydra Hall.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle arrives within the enclosed section of Hydra Hall – where Íde sleeps. Raphaëlle uses Demon Vision to locate the switch, and lets the walls descend. She crouches in front of Íde, and rubs her hand. __Íde awakens very slowly._

Íde – Mmm… Quoi? _(Mmm… What?)_

Raphaëlle – C'est moi. Je suis ici. _(It's me. I'm here.)_

Íde – Mmm… Bon. Salut. _(Mmm… Good. Hi.)_

_Íde yawns and stretches._

Íde – Bienvenue. _(Welcome.)_

Raphaëlle – Merci. _(Thanks.)_

_Íde stares at Raphaëlle._

Raphaëlle – Quoi? _(What?)_

Íde – Rien. _(Nothing.)_

_Íde wraps her arms around Raphaëlle, and hugs her. Raphaëlle pauses for a moment, and then hugs her back. The blue aura disappears from both of them._

Íde – Maintenant, alors. Tu sais quoi faire? _(Now, then. You know what to do?)_

_Player interaction ensues. Raphaëlle nods, takes her Kushiro Blade, and slowly shoves her Kushiro Blade through Íde's neck. "Inazuma Suit online." _

Raphaëlle – Merci. _(Thank you.)_

Íde – Bonne nuit— _(Goodnight—)_

_Raphaëlle lays Íde down, and closes her eyes. Raphaëlle regains The Shadow's Aura. The player gets control._

Raphaëlle used her new suit to deactivate the locks of both Enfical Depths East and West. The demon girl still had some exploring to do within the depths, since she passed some yellow barriers along the way – which she could finally access. Raphaëlle decided to explore those areas first, and then return to the facility for further exploration. During her travels, the demon girl not only encountered more monsters, but she also acquired new upgrades for two of her weapons. After defeating two larger monsters at the end of the intricate new paths—one west and one east—Raphaëlle would finally be capable of unleashing more power from her Rhesus and Trukama Blades. The Rhesus Blade upgrade, which she acquired on the western side, sharpened the blade even further, and collected even more blood. _"__**Greater Absorption – Blood**__ online."_ The Trukama Blade upgrade, which she acquired from the eastern side, sharpened the sickle even further, and collected even more radiance from the night sky. _"__**Greater Absorption – Moonlight**__ online." _After clearing both areas for the time being, Raphaëlle returned to the facility, entered the tunnel platform in Hydra Hall, and traversed across to Enfical proper. The yellow locks were finally accessible, and Raphaëlle utilized them to explore further.

One direction merely functioned as a cavernous shortcut into Enfical Depths. Raphaëlle made her trek in the other direction, after unlocking the passageways at either ends of the cavern. In fact, both directions contained long cavernous walks. At the end of the cavern, after unlocking the way with her Kasan Suit, Raphaëlle arrived at **Plasma Catacomb**. The entirety of the catacomb was dry. There was no water. _"Wings offline."_ The demon girl arduously made her way to the top of the catacomb, which was inside yet another facility. All of the monsters within were dripping in blood, and all of the patrolling demons spewed blood. Even the cliff walls, wherein The Shadow built all three of his facilities, dripped red. After completing the trial, Raphaëlle acquired the Crystal Skull. _"2/6 found. Wings online." _The arched exit opened, and Raphaëlle exited. She stood high above one of the three shores of Enfical. Each of the three cliffs overlooked the river of blood. With everything sought, from the accessible locations with her current weaponry, Raphaëlle flew to the center cliff to utilize the tunnel to return to The Underworld. However, as she approached the shore, a notification popped up. _"ALERT: Unidentified tremor in Deblana. Mapping route for fast travel." _Raphaëlle felt déjà vu from a moment near the start of her adventure. Rather than travelling downward, the demon girl needed to travel a different path through Enfical, to reach the plaza where she fought SHADOWDAVAN. The nearest tunnel awaited. Raphaëlle entered the facility, and made her way there. Upon return to Enfical Plaza, Raphaëlle rode the tunnel up, where she soared beyond Julius Pond, the Deblana Sewers, and wound up in Cú Roí's throne room. She had not been in his chamber in a while – but just as Pontus, he rested there on the throne. His head leaned to the left. His eyes – closed. His body – loose. Raphaëlle noted these things as she walked closer. She continued to walk – when she realized, and saw, that the familiarity was more than just striking. The skeleton king was nowhere in the room. Pontus was somehow, at some point, transported to the throne in the castle of Deblana. Raphaëlle was surprised and confused. Before delving too deep in self-questioning, Raphaëlle remembered her task of finding the aforementioned tremor. She wondered if it was SHADOWJULIUS – and if that were the case, she would need to stop him yet again. Raphaëlle exited the castle.

_A cutscene ensues._

_The dark, thundering clouds continue to infest Deblana's sky. Gaia stands at the central platform, in the middle of the city. Lightning descends from the heavens at intervals – but also from where Raphaëlle's enemy is. Gaia wields her Sword of Eden. Raphaëlle cannot see the full details from the castle on the hill – but she knows a riot is going on. Rather than fly straight into the city, the demon girl decides to make her way through the sewers. She goes to the courtyard tunnel, and descends. The player gets control._

The mind-controlled humans seemed to know that a particular demon girl was on her way. They patrolled the entirety of Deblana's sewer system, and as did the rats. Raphaëlle crept her way through, and stealthily killed the people from around corners, and while they were not looking. She could not afford to let herself fall to the enemy's hands. She could not falter. She needed to be successful, and finally put an end to the other-one-in-command. An assassination needed to take place. After realizing Cú Roí's inferiority to the demon rulers, Raphaëlle knew whom to blame for the chaos across the wrecked planet. However, this caused her to question her latest adventure once again. Why was she even still exploring and slaughtering? Raphaëlle knew she would have to answer that question sometime. She had to think of an answer – because, presently, she had no idea. The search for an answer occupied her mind during her stealth travel through the underground labyrinth. Her thoughts, however, were not properly registered. Other voices spoke. She heard the people of Deblana – both those with their own thoughts, and those with thoughts prepared for them. Eventually, she arrived.

_An interactive cutscene ensues. _

Gaia – All right, everyone! That's enough! Please, be quiet! The rain is getting harder, and I do not want to spend much more time out here.

Raphaëlle (whispering) – Bonne. Tu seras bien trempée. _(Good. You will be nicely soaked.)_

_Gaia charges her Sword of Eden. Raphaëlle, wanting to avoid the electricity, moves to a more distant location. She stands somewhat behind Gaia – still within the sewers. She stands beneath the crowd. Looking from all directions, she notes the people directly above her are not mind controlled. The player gets control. _

Raphaëlle carefully slid open the manhole, and climbed up the ladder. Passing through the crowd, she tried to find an opening, and a secure way to Gaia. The demon girl watched her enemy very carefully. At a certain interval, Raphaëlle noted that Gaia walked to the edge of the platform, and then turned to walk elsewhere. Raphaëlle paid close attention to this. When the moment struck right, Raphaëlle silently walked onto the platform, and went to stab Gaia through the torso – but Gaia once again expected that. With the Sword of Eden, Gaia launched Raphaëlle back into the crowd. Unexpectedly, the people with free thoughts helped the demon girl stand back up. They all brought out their weapons. The angry Gaia raised the Apple, and enriched the mortals' minds with Precursor power – those already controlled appeared as those that lived eons ago, while the others somehow remained intact. Gaia grew even angrier. Raphaëlle was confused as to how they were able to withstand the Apple's power. Regardless, she knew Terra's brutal, demonic monarchy needed to end. If it meant killing dozens and dozens of brainwashed humans, then so be it.

_**EDENHUMANS  
><strong>__Subjects are the mind-controlled disciples of their ruler, Gaia. According to this latest scan, some appear weaponless, while others bear arms: swords, knives, axes, half-broken wine bottles, etc. Because of the excess surging of power from the Apple of Eden, the subjects are capable of producing electricity through their palms and fingertips – some even through their weapons. There is no clear vulnerability, but the absorption of electricity with the Inazuma Suit is possible. Proceed with caution._

The corrupt people approached from all directions. Raphaëlle's assistants surrounded her. They protected her. Raphaëlle was thankful to have them on her side. Upon the crowd congregating even closer together, the demon girl and group of humans attacked the brainwashed mortals. All during an awful thunderstorm. Everybody was getting drenched. Hail descended from the clouds. Thunder rumbled loudly. Lightning seemed to strike closer and closer. Raphaëlle and the others needed to act quickly. None of them wanted to fight in that weather. Electricity surged through many bodies. Cuts and blood wound up on peoples' limbs. Humans and EDENHUMANS alike were losing parts of their bodies. Heads and limbs fell on the concrete. Even full bodies – stabbed through the torso or neck after their fall. Blood spurted all around the crowded central Deblana platform. The metal sounds of blades filled the downtown area. Shards of glass gouged out peoples' eyes. Humans and EDENHUMANS both lost their fingers and toes. Either bit off or chopped off. Dozens and dozens of people cried in pain. Lightning struck within the area. Not just from the EDENHUMANS, but from the heavens, too. Gaia simply stood there, and watched the madness. The madness that she created. She began a war. If Pontus were awake—if Pontus witnessed the chaos—what would his reaction have been? Nevertheless, the war raged on. Countless lives were ultimately lost.

_A cutscene ensues._

_The central platform opens, and reveals to be a giant tunnel. The time has come! Raphaëlle follows Gaia. They have business to finish. With use of both the Sword of Eden and Apple of Eden, in addition to the thunderstorm, Gaia begins her transformation into SHADOWGAIA, during their descent. However, the transformation will take a while. Raphaëlle is never able to catch up. The storm follows them. Lightning, rain, hail, and wind all infest the tunnel, while keeping the rest of Deblana dry. The player gets control._

_**GAIA  
><strong>__Subject is one of the two successors of The Underworld. Power relies heavily on electricity. Fighting during a thunderstorm delivers her power at maximum, under the circumstance of her humanoid form. The subject is also capable of wielding glacial abilities. Due to the subject requiring to charge, in order to manifest her ultimate form, ice attacks are likely to be most prevalent. Proceed with caution. _

The battle raged on through the tunnel. Raphaëlle did her best to avoid the bolts of lightning that followed them down their linear path. She also tried to get as close to Gaia as she possibly could – while Gaia faced toward her enemy, and blasted balls of ice at her. Raphaëlle utilized her Kasan Suit, with dual swords in her hands, and split them in two. That was not Gaia's intent. Upon realizing it, Raphaëlle switched to her Aisu Suit, in order to return the balls of ice to Gaia. As they reached either end, the ice balls grew in size. Raphaëlle was cautious to avoid any damage. It would be tremendously dangerous – and Raphaëlle was prepared to switch blades, to let the ice melt in front of her face. In addition, the demon girl needed to be careful with where the lightning would strike. The electricity charged Gaia's demonic armour even further. The more the electricity flowed within, the greater her power. Raphaëlle stalled Gaia with the ice. Time grew shorter. They were approaching the end of the tunnel. The demon girl did her best to stay strong, while also keeping her mightiest attacks for the rigorous battle ahead. Gaia nearly finished transforming. Raphaëlle saw her enemy's gradual transformation throughout their descent. She could also see the electricity and ice flowing through SHADOWGAIA's body – as well through her Sword of Eden, which grew in size, too. Raphaëlle was surprised to see such a sudden transformation from a demon into a behemoth. After the lengthy follow, and the observance of Gaia's growth in both size and power, they arrived at The Underworld.

_A cutscene ensues._

_They rise into the bottom of the river. An eruption practically occurs in the lava-blood, since it spreads in a circumferential direction upon their arrival. The tunnel locks once they stand atop the platform, as it is only accessible to those that possess the Sword of Eden and Apple of Eden, and while in a nightmare form. The lava-blood returns to its normal level and look shortly thereafter. Raphaëlle takes a long look at her enemy. She takes a big breath. No Pieces of Eden on her end, this time around. It is time to see if she was strong enough without them. Raphaëlle would try her best, and hope she might have good fortune – unlike against Pontus and the EDENPONTUS._

_**BOSS – SHADOWGAIA  
><strong>__Subject is the ultimate monstrous form of the original subject, Gaia. The subject houses four powers at maximum capacity: ice, electricity, dark magic, and Precursor power. The subject tends to focus on one power at a time. Try to remember the fire, electric absorption, and moonlight vulnerabilities, respectively. Locating the subject's vulnerability for Precursor power, given current circumstances, depends on how the subject wields it. Proceed with caution. _

SHADOWGAIA began the climactic battle by forging two ice tridents. She used them to slash and cut the miniscule demon girl. Raphaëlle remained beneath the river. For SHADOWGAIA, the river was far too shallow. Raphaëlle used this as an advantage. Her firepower would be vastly stronger while within the river of lava and blood. Her focus for the first little bit was the legs. Raphaëlle dodged the plunging, alternating tridents, while attacking SHADOWGAIA's legs as powerfully as she possibly could. Using one of the earlier upgrades, Raphaëlle was able to charge the flames within the suit, and along the exterior. Once the Kasan Suit dealt enough damage to melt the ice off the goliath's legs, Raphaëlle attacked them once more from in-between, and watched SHADOWGAIA fall on her knees. The demon girl then used Submerged Magnetism to climb up a leg, and attack the monster's spine. In the meantime, she had to avoid oncoming ice ball attacks. SHADOWGAIA would not give up so easily. She thrust her dual tridents into the ground, and swung her claws forward – each with an ice ball within. Raphaëlle, at first, avoided them – but then returned them with her Aisu Suit, just as they did earlier. Once the monster's claws could not take anymore, Raphaëlle swiftly made her way over, and burned the behemoth's claws. She then stabbed them straight through the palms. SHADOWGAIA attempted to get up. She gripped her dual tridents, and tried to stand on one leg. Raphaëlle went to stab her enemy through the neck, but an electric jolt sent her flying back. The behemoth stood up. Raphaëlle hovered in mid-air, and watched the monster gain a strong electric charge. So, too, did the tridents. SHADOWGAIA briefly crouched, and then thrust herself in Raphaëlle's direction. Rather than avoiding the pounce attack, Raphaëlle managed to get herself squeezed by one of the monster's claws. They landed on the bridge, which received its first major crack and foot indents. The demon girl, upon getting free, soared to the highest point of the bridge.

Raphaëlle's enemy thrust her tridents into the bridge, and surged it all with electricity. Raphaëlle carefully tried to avoid landing anywhere. SHADOWGAIA blasted four spheres of electricity at the demon girl. Using her Inazuma Suit, Raphaëlle absorbed them all, and sent a lightning bolt back down at the goliath. Surprised, SHADOWGAIA tried to protect her face with her hand, but the lightning bolt managed to hit her wound. Electricity deactivated from that hand. Raphaëlle flew a bit closer, while waiting for the next series of electric spheres. After launching them, SHADOWGAIA raced to the other side of the bridge. The monster knew Raphaëlle would immediately thrust the lightning back down – and, of course, Raphaëlle missed her target. Electricity was already on its way to the demon girl when she turned around. With no time to react and absorb, the electricity flowed through Raphaëlle's body. During her enemy's electrocution, SHADOWGAIA pounced upward, grabbed the demon girl, and brought her back down to where the tridents were. The cracking spread. The behemoth picked up both tridents. Raphaëlle awoke her body from the electrocution, and raced to the other side. SHADOWGAIA chased after. With every step she made, the cracks and foot indents increased, spread, and worsened. By the time she reached her enemy, the bridge began to fall into the river on one side. Raphaëlle defended herself with her suit, and tried to absorb as much electricity as possible. Once overpowered, the suit fueled SHADOWGAIA's tridents with so much juice that she no longer possessed it.

The bridge was falling into the river on one side. The pillars and cords were suddenly coming apart from the main structure. Raphaëlle fell back, and sat near the edge of one side. She watched as SHADOWGAIA began turning completely black. By use of the dark magic in her tridents, the monster forged wings, horns, and a tail. Before Raphaëlle could do anything, the goliath grabbed her enemy, and brought her closer to the wide-open sky. She then tossed Raphaëlle even further up. The demon girl could feel the cold outer space tickling her spine. However, using the power of the Trukama Blade, Raphaëlle could still weaken the behemoth. Upon the sickle glowing a bright moonlight white, the demon girl defended herself from the oncoming monster. Slash after slash, SHADOWGAIA gave her all at her attempt of killing the miniscule demon girl. Raphaëlle tried a tactic of dodging, and then attacking an open, vulnerable region. Once the monster caught on, the demon girl moved on to a different tactic: ridding SHADOWGAIA of flight. The goliath altered her way of attacking, as a means to avoid Raphaëlle's previously successful way of weakening her. However, this still worked to Raphaëlle's benefit. After a few attempts, the demon girl managed to get onto SHADOWGAIA's back, and started cutting one of the monster's Wings. Their altitude lowered. Forging dark magic from her tridents, the behemoth blasted spheres of it at Raphaëlle. She destroyed them with her Trukama Blade. This angered the monster, so she made them larger and stronger. Since dark magic was one of her weaknesses, along with electricity, Raphaëlle swan dove far down into the river. SHADOWGAIA chased after, and rapidly blasted several spheres of dark magic. The demon girl attempted to avoid them all during her descent. Nearly forgetting the bridge's descent into extinction, Raphaëlle just barely avoided hitting the bridge. Her Submerged Magnetism protected her. SHADOWGAIA hit the other side of the bridge hard, which caused the entire thing to fall apart. Every part of the bridge was falling into the river. The goliath unleashed all of her remaining dark magic, and sent a giant sphere flying toward Raphaëlle. She knew her sickle would still absorb most of it. The demon girl covered her face with her Trukama Blade, and let the remaining damage affect her. During this moment, SHADOWGAIA knew she was bringing Raphaëlle down onto her knees, and finally delivering her the pain she deserved. Thus, using the remnants of the bridge, the monster unleashed her remaining power: Precursor power. Her tridents became Pieces of Eden, and she would use them to kill Raphaëlle.

_A cutscene ensues._

_SHADOWGAIA runs toward kneeling Raphaëlle at top velocity. SHADOWGAIA holds her Tridents of Eden up high while running. Raphaëlle is in intense pain. She switches to her Rhesus Blade, in hopes that she will activate Vital Restoration – but she receives no answer. Everything goes offline. Raphaëlle, feeling useless, closes her eyes, and accepts the pain she is soon to receive. She lets the sounds of the collapsing bridge fill her mind. Seconds later, she hears the piercing blades deliver the finishing blow, but she feels no pain. The collapsing ends. There is a sudden stillness. She opens her eyes one last time, and watches SHADOWGAIA fall on her knees. They stare at each other. Raphaëlle slowly looks up, and sees another monster. Her vision starts to flicker. A familiar voice speaks to her, but he sounds so far away._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Let's get out of here. This bridge is no longer stable.

Raphaëlle – Too… late. So much… pain.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ There has to be a way! I'm not going to let you die like this!

_**JUNO **_ She won't die here. She still has more to do.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ What? Who are you?

_**JUNO **_ Think on your memories, and you will remember.

_Pause._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Juno, right?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Juno?

Raphaëlle – App—

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Oh, sorry. What did you say?

Raphaëlle – App—

_He tries to decipher what she is saying._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Apple. Apple? You want—

_He uses Demon Vision to locate the Apple of Eden. He finds it within SHADOWGAIA. He rolls her over._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Oh my god. Is it inside of her?

Raphaëlle – Hurry.

_He cuts open SHADOWGAIA's stomach, and finds the Apple wrapped around her guts. _

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ That is so weird. Why would she do that?

_He rubs the Apple clean. _

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Here.

_He puts it in her hand, and activates it. Everything returns online. Raphaëlle gets up off her knees, and gets a better look at SHADOWJULIUS._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ You all right?

Raphaëlle – Yeah.

_She coughs into her armpit._

Raphaëlle – Just one more thing—

_She coughs into her armpit again. However, after removing her arm from her face, she finds herself within the prison cell. It opens._

Raphaëlle – —I need to do.

"_Dragon online." She flies out of the cell, and finds herself in 80,000-year-old Deblana. _

Raphaëlle – Ouaip. Je savais que cela arrivera encore. _(Yup. I knew this would happen again.)_

_The player gets control._

Deblana changed so much in 80,000 years. The buildings all looked so different. They looked just as advanced as those in ancient Ville de Marie did. Just as before, Juno's voice guided Raphaëlle on a certain path. Humans and demons, and machines and monsters, all stood in her path. Dragon Raphaëlle slaughtered as many as she could, in order to free the path of obstacles. Thinking on the past, the dragon girl thought about the citizens of that time behaved, and how it evolved to present times. The people obeyed and subjugated themselves to their rulers, the Ancient Civilization. Compared to the chaos she recently saw with Pontus and Gaia, Raphaëlle saw how easy it was to rule the minds of others. Especially when wielding a godly power that would do anything you command. Raphaëlle felt that power before. She used it to stop The Shadow, as well as to prevent further chaos. She also once acted as a ruler. She was once Queen of the Underworld. It did not take long for her to realize how some felt of her – and how she felt about herself, upon reflection. She certainly did not fit well to the throne. She was not a ruler. She understood that, but Pontus and Gaia were not that much better. Nor Jariah't. Those thoughts preoccupied Raphaëlle's mind as she soared just above the tallest skyscrapers in ancient Deblana, and killed the savage beasts. Juno guided the dragon into the outskirts of the city. The hills and mountains surrounded the city. Raphaëlle was in unexplored territory. The beasts still followed. They followed her north, where snow blanketed the ground, the hills, and the mountains. Raphaëlle soared beyond the mountain on which the tunnel to Séain stood. She soared along the path that SHADOWJULIUS took. Séain also looked different back then. The ruins looked less destroyed. It was a home to the Ancient Civilization. A Temple where they worked, studied, and foresaw the future of their kind, and the humans they led. The Time Fissure was within. Raphaëlle made her way there, and altered the very nature of her story again.

Shaun (voice) – Rebecca, William: we may have something. Our Initiate discovered another Temple.

William (voice) – Good. We'll check back here, after the Time Anomaly is over. Juno needs us for something. I know it.

Rebecca (voice) – She isn't turning to _us_. She's turning to everybody. Anybody that follows Raphaëlle's story.

Shaun (voice) – Right. Keep working hard, Initiate. You'll be done soon enough.

_A cutscene ensues._

_SHADOWGAIA runs toward kneeling Raphaëlle at top velocity. SHADOWGAIA holds her Tridents of Eden up high while running. Raphaëlle gets up off her knees, brings the Apple of Eden around, and freezes SHADOWGAIA in place. The bridge greatly collapses_

_**SHADOW**__**GAIA**_ How did you get that—?

_SHADOWJULIUS takes the Tridents of Eden from SHADOWGAIA, while Raphaëlle absorbs all of the Precursor power from the SHADOWGAIA's stomach and back. With the remaining amount of elevated bridge, and time, left, SHADOWJULIUS stabs his former queen through the stomach. She falls on her knees. The Tridents escape her body. Raphaëlle moves out of the way, and lets SHADOWGAIA onto her stomach. _

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Let's get out of here. This bridge is no longer stable.

_Raphaëlle nods. They fly together to the throne platform – only to find a clapping Cú Roí on the throne. _

Raphaëlle – I thought you died.

Cú Roí – Of course you would be presumptuous. You weren't even awake after that final blow.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ So, you and Pontus are working together, then?

Cú Roí – You catch on quick, boy. He and I are the only ones left who see the truth – and the entity within you.

Raphaëlle – What do you want with Julius?

Cú Roí – Never you mind, child. This is no longer your concern. Boy, Papa Pontus has a gift for you.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ What do you mean?

Cú Roí – Since he is still having his long nap, and since your mind is a bit loose, I will grant you some more power.

Raphaëlle – No. You will not hurt Julius anymore.

Cú Roí – I told you to stay out of this, child! Go home to your family. Let us have a man-to-man chat.

Raphaëlle – What family?

Cú Roí – Anyway, boy. Here's your gift.

_Blackout._


	9. SEQUENCE VI: Je T'aime

**SEQUENCE VI: Je T'aime**

_Raphaëlle walks into English class a bit late. Julius is sitting far in the back. Only one seat is available – and it is to Julius' right. Raphaëlle goes there._

Amy – All right! We have a full class! We can finally get started—

_The professor notices Raphaëlle did not pick up a course outline. She promptly picks up the last one, and delivers it to Raphaëlle._

Amy – Your syllabus.

_Raphaëlle takes it._

Raphaëlle – Thanks.

_The professor walks down the ramp, in the middle of the classroom._

Amy – Okay, _now_ we can get started. For those who don't already know, my name is Amélie Dauphin. For simplicity's sake, just call me Amy.

_The professor continues her introduction lecture, while Raphaëlle sets up for class. She notices peculiar drawings and writings on the desk._

Raphaëlle – Weird.

_Julius turns his head._

Julius – Hmm?

Raphaëlle – What? Oh, nothing.

Julius – I'm Julius, by the way.

Raphaëlle – Raphaëlle.

_She picks up a notebook, opens it, and starts writing important factoids that the professor mentions. As class continues, and the tip of her pen goes down the page, Raphaëlle notices two droplets of blood near the bottom of the page. She wipes her eyes. Julius notices redness around her eyes._

Julius – Are you okay?

Raphaëlle – Yes, I'm fine.

_Raphaëlle returns to her work._

_Fade to black._

_Raphaëlle is in her bedroom. She is replicating the drawings and writing on her desk in English class. She looks at her notebook._

Anna (from the kitchen) – Raphaëlle! Dîner! _(Raphaëlle! Dinner!)_

Raphaëlle (to Anna) – Je vais bientôt être là! _(I'll be right there!)_

Raphaëlle – Que signifie tout cela? _(What does this all mean?)_

_She starts analyzing the symbols and drawings. _

Anna (from the kitchen) – Raphaëlle! Dépêche-toi! La nourriture est à faire froid! _(Raphaëlle! Hurry up! The food is getting cold!)_

Raphaëlle (to Anna) – Donne-moi une minute! _(Give me a minute!)_

_She solves part of the puzzle, and writes it down. _

Raphaëlle – Ça va faire pour l'instant. _(That'll do for now.)_

Raphaëlle (to Anna) – Je viens! _(I'm coming!)_

_She goes to the kitchen to eat._

_Fade to black._

_Raphaëlle sees Julius near the locked classroom door. Julius notices a change in her appearance._

Julius – Did you have a rough night?

Raphaëlle – Nightmare.

Julius – Oh, what happened in it?

_Raphaëlle is inside of the same prison cell in Deblana. _

Raphaëlle – I was imprisoned somewhere.

_She rattles the bars._

Raphaëlle – I couldn't get out.

_**SHADOW003**_ No. Let us enter. Show us the desires you wish to see fulfilled. We shall do it for you.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ No. No, I won't have this! Go! Go away!

Raphaëlle – There were voices. Familiar voices. They looked like me, but as a demon.

Julius – Demonic Raphaëlle, huh? Hmm… I could actually picture you as a demon.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ And what is it that I want?

_**SHADOW002**_ To escape this ancient prison.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yes…

Julius – Raphaëlle?

_**SHADOW001**_ To reveal yourself once again to the public, and protect Terra; not destroy it.

Julius – The classroom is open.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yes.

_**SHADOW003**_ To invoke suffering to the people who think you a destructor.

Julius – Raphaëlle?

Raphaëlle – Yes!

Julius – Hey! Don't shout!

_Raphaëlle snaps out of her daydream. _

Raphaëlle – Oh, sorry.

Julius – Let's go.

_They go to their seats in class. Raphaëlle stares at the desk. She mumbles the deciphered phrase._

Raphaëlle – Lumière et l'ombre sont les deux faces de la même pièce. Une ne peut pas exister sans l'autre. _(Light and shadow are two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other.)_

Julius – What did you say?

Raphaëlle – I solved the riddle last night.

Julius – What riddle?

Raphaëlle – The drawings and writings on my desk, see?

_She points at it. Julius gets closer._

Julius – I don't see anything written or drawn. Where do you see that?

Raphaëlle – All over!

_Julius gives her a weird look. Raphaëlle, confused and disappointed, sits down. She gets her things for class._

_Fade to black. _

_Raphaëlle and her family are sitting at the dinner table. They are having an after-meal discussion._

Anna – Alors, que penses-tu? _(So, what do you think?)_

Raphaëlle – Un voyage à Celtica? _(A trip to Celtica?)_

Anna – Ouais! Nous voudrions aller en l'été, et passer deux semaines là-bas. (Yeah! We would go in the summer, and spend two weeks there.)

Raphaëlle – Je ne sais pas. _(I don't know.)_

Michel – S'il y a de Wi-Fi, tu pourras discuter avec vos amis. _(If there is Wi-Fi, you can chat with your friends.)_

Raphaëlle – Je sais, mais deux semaines... C'est longtemps! _(I know, but two weeks… __That's a long time.)_

Anna – Ce sera amusant! Villes différents prospectifs; nourriture différente; atmosphère différente. _(It will be fun! Different-looking towns; different food; different atmosphere.)_

_Raphaëlle sighs._

Raphaëlle – Fine.

Anna – Great!

Michel – Merci, Raphaëlle. _(Thank you, Raphaëlle.)_

Raphaëlle – Yep.

_Raphaëlle gets up, and returns to her room. She closes the door._

_Blackout._

_Michel is knocking on Raphaëlle's door. _

Michel – Temps pour se lever! _(Time to get up!)_

_Raphaëlle, in bed, rolls over to look at the time. A large amount of blood drips from her eyes, and paints the floor. __She groans._

Raphaëlle – Il est 05h30! _(It's 5:30!)_

Michel – Notre vol part dans une heure et demie! _(Our flight leaves in an hour and a half!)_

_Raphaëlle lifts the blanket, gets out of bed, walks to the door, and opens it. Michel is surprised to see so much blood on her face, but tries not to say anything about it._

Michel – Bonjour. Heh. _(Good morning. Heh.)_

_Raphaëlle walks past him. She washes her face at the bathroom sink. Once she is done, she looks up at the mirror, and sees her demonic form. She smiles. _

Raphaëlle – Bonjour, Ombre. _(Morning, Shadow.)_

_Raphaëlle notices her demon self, in the mirror, turn to stare at the bathtub. Raphaëlle does the same. The demon is now in the bathtub – staring and not breathing. Black serpents slither all over her naked body. Raphaëlle watches a previous experience repeat: a serpent go into her respiratory hole, another into her secretion hole, and the third into her reproduction hole. Henri knocks on the bathroom door._

Henri – Raphaëlle, as-tu fini là-dedans? _(Raphaëlle, are you done in there?)_

_Raphaëlle, completely surprised, jumps and turns her head back._

Raphaëlle – N-non! Pas encore! _(N-no! Not yet!)_

_She turns her head back to normal. __She speaks to herself._

Raphaëlle – Comment est-il encore vivant? Il est censé être mort! _(How is he still alive? He's supposed to be dead!)_

_She goes to the bathroom door to open it._

Raphaëlle – Bien! Vous pouvez— _(Okay! __You can—)_

_She looks up, and sees her sister._

Raphaëlle – L'utiliser. _(—use it.)_

Coralie – Quoi? _(What?)_

Raphaëlle – Rien. J'ai juste pensée— _(Nothing. I just thought—)_

_She sees Henri again._

Henri – Pensée quoi? _(Thought what?)_

_She sees Coralie again._

Raphaëlle – Rien. Oublie. _(Nothing. Forget it.)_

_She returns to her room, closes the door, and gets dressed. However, upon opening her closet, there is no back wall. _

Raphaëlle – Quoi? _(What?)_

_She puts the rest of her clothes on, and then walks into the darkness. She finds the back wall a few extra footsteps further. She touches it, but finds it to be a door. The somewhat familiar light confuses her._

Raphaëlle – Où suis-je? _(Where am I?)_

_She looks around, and realizes she is in one of the bedrooms in the old Deblana castle._

Raphaëlle – Ombre? (Shadow?)

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yes?

_She quickly turns to the side, and sees her demonic self in the mirror. They walk toward each other._

Raphaëlle – Why are you doing this?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ What do you mean?

_Raphaëlle moves her hand toward the mirror, which makes demonic Raphaëlle do the same – but the demon disappears when their hands touch._

Raphaëlle – Shadow?

_The Shadow's laughter echoes around the room. The window opens a little bit. Cold wind fills the room. The door creaks half-open. _

Raphaëlle – Shadow?

_She slowly walks toward the door, and opens it completely. Julius is standing there. _

Julius – Raphaëlle, are you okay?

Raphaëlle – I don't know.

Julius – Well, I'm worried about you.

Raphaëlle – Why?

Julius – Je t'aime. (I love you.)

_Raphaëlle submerges into the river of lava and blood. She swims back up, and sees Cú Roí's blast of multi-elemental dark magic dissipate from his hand. Her power starts to wane. Upon losing consciousness, everything goes offline._

Cú Roí – Just as I expected.

_SHADOWJULIUS brings about the Apple of Eden—Raphaëlle gave it to him subconsciously— and goes to bash the Apple on Cú Roí's forehead – only for the skeleton king to secure the other side in his hand, and watch it turn to blue dust. Cú Roí chuckles. SHADOWJULIUS watches as Cú Roí grows into demonic size._

Cú Roí – Looks like your power has run dry.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ We can still take you.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ There has been a question on my mind. You might be able to answer it: how is it that The Shadow lives in me, yet you seem capable of wielding its strength.

Cú Roí – Boy, as long as you possess its Aura, the power is under your control. No second mind is inside of you.

_The player gets control._

_**SHADOWCÚ ROÍ  
><strong>__Subject is a corrupt form of the resurrected, but invisible-to-human, king from eons ago. The Shadow influences the subject as a way of vengeance. This vengeance exists elementally. Dark magic powers these elements, and combines them. The dark magic acts as a barrier to protect the subject's vulnerabilities. This darkness lives through the confines of the subject's body. Subject's weaponry is of an equal class and power as in your current possession. Proceed with caution._

Arms clashed. Electricity flowed through SHADOWJULIUS' body, while multi-elemental dark magic flowed through the skeleton king's arms. Using all of his might, the skeleton king tried his best at pushing SHADOWJULIUS off the throne platform, and into the river with Raphaëlle. The demon boy would not lose so easily. He thrust the electricity from his arms into his hands, and electrified the skeleton king's chest. Surprised by the jolt of power, SHADOWCÚ ROÍ fell back, and landed on the throne. The demon boy grabbed the king's neck, and gave him further electrocution. SHADOWJULIUS could see the nearest veins briefly light up. He then moved his other arm back—first harm still securing the king's neck—switched to the element of black ice, and charged an ice punch at the king's cheek. Upon collision, a large amount of his face froze. However, before the demon boy could do anything more, SHADOWCÚ ROÍ kneed his enemy in the stomach. Fire coursed through his leg, which made the king's attack even more powerful. Startled, the demon boy took a few steps back. His left foot touched the edge of the platform – but he caught himself, and stepped forward. SHADOWCÚ ROÍ stood up, and created spheres of multi-elemental dark magic in his hands. The demon boy marched forth, both his elements equalized, and attempted to attack accordingly. Lightning struck in his direction – he absorbed it, and made his return attack stronger. Fire engulfed in his direction – he made his black ice as strong as he could, and doused the flames. Ice fists thrust in his direction – he grabbed them with stronger ice, and sent frostbite up the king's arms. An electric kick to the stomach, and SHADOWCÚ ROÍ fell on one knee. An icy elbow to the neck, and the skeleton king fell on both. He grabbed a leg of the throne. The demon boy grabbed another. With both of them pulling at it—the throne implanted to the platform—they realized the battle was of strength, and watched as they lifted the seat off the ground. The demon boy electrified the seat with his hand. The king did the same with his. Since SHADOWJULIUS was distracted, the skeleton king thrust a fiery punch at the left, icy side of his enemy's torso. The unexpectedness made SHADOWJULIUS' electricity weaker. The skeletal absorbed all of which that touched the throne, and gave the demon boy a little electrocution.

_A cutscene ensues. _

_Startled again, he steps back – but the throne leg is still in his hand. Not only does SHADOWJULIUS rip off that leg, but he rips part of the seat, too. SHADOWCÚ ROÍ throws the throne at the demon boy. He shatters it with an icy punch, and then opens his hand to let icy shards cut the skeleton king. They land on the king's face. Ice cuts both his eyes, and makes them bleed. The demon boy creates the largest sphere of electricity he can, and blasts it at the king – killing him._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Sweet dreams, Cú Roí.

_SHADOWRAPH growls monstrously._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Raphaëlle!

_He turns around, and dives into the river. The moment that he reaches her, a robotic voice speaks. "Access granted." A giant tunnel opens. They go to Deblana. Their trip is unstable._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Raphaëlle, are you okay?

_SHADOWRAPH growls monstrously._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Raphaëlle?

_Worried, he flies closer, and grabs her ankle. Her grotesque face turns. Her blood red eyes stare at SHADOWJULIUS' eyes. She growls monstrously, and flies away. SHADOWJULIUS tries to stay close. SHADOWRAPH conjoins all of her elemental abilities to her Kushiro Blade, and attacks her enemy. The demon boy tries his best to dodge. The player gets control._

SHADOWRAPH saw the world in a different way than SHADOWJULIUS. Her mind was in one place, while her body was in another. She saw the past, while her actions were of terror. Memories flowed through her mind, while monstrous actions flowed through her body. She could see and hear SHADOWJULIUS trying to help. Her mind said, _"Yes, please, help me"_ – but her body said, _"Stay away, before I kill you." _SHADOWRAPH knew she had no control over her body. She also knew her memories would serve quite well as a distraction. Just as before, she envisioned her past. Her eyes and mind drifted off to her adventures at home, at school, and in her dreams. The world she envisioned was relatively normal. Lune was far enough away. Her family was still alive. She could see a regular day in her former life. She drew; she played games; watched television and online videos; she had conversations with friends and family; she went to school; she took evening showers, and had nightmares in sleep. It was through these interactive memories that she was able to see just how much her world changed. The only craziness occurred through her nightmares. She saw worlds she had never been to, as well as altered perceptions of reality. It began by just seeing archaic Terra, and then actually walking on it. She watched her planet grow and develop. People of these ancient times built the world into something habitable. As time continued on, Terra became more populous. From what she remembered, and from what she read, The Shadow existed throughout all that time. It searched for millennia. Raphaëlle lived with it all her life. A good night's sleep without a nightmare was rare. SHADOWRAPH envisioned the mornings after. If the nightmares were vivid enough, they would occupy her thoughts for most of the day. Raphaëlle was born into believing she had some sort of importance. With the progression of time, her nightmares involved preparation. She interacted with altered realities—from sewer serpents, to a dead family at their cottage, to even visiting The Underworld—to exclaim that the nightmares might become real someday. Raphaëlle kept the truth of herself as much a secret as possible. Her parents and sister were the only ones aware of her _subconjunctival hemorrhage _and nightmares. She never explained the context of her dreams or told them about The Shadow. She felt it her obligation to bear the worst of the trouble. Even so, she regretted what became of her toward the end. The actions The Shadow forced her to commit brought absolute pain and distraught. Nothing felt the same after her mother died. Her life tumbled. Lune got closer. All of Raphaëlle's accomplishments and achievements were about to disappear. Not long after her mother's death, the planet began to change. The significant changes were most prevalent on one-half of the planet. With madness ensuing, people either dying or transforming, and the planet collapsing, all of Raphaëlle hopes and dreams were gone. She would never see her friends and family again. She did not know what to expect. However, she had three possible outcomes in mind: she would die, The Shadow would die, or both. Her nightmares became reality.

_A cutscene ensues. _

_The growling and attacking, and the dodging and defending continue into the thunderous clouds of Deblana. SHADOWJULIUS lets the lightning strike from the heavens onto SHADOWRAPH. Meanwhile, dreaming Raphaëlle envisions herself sitting on the throne, and watching Lune descend toward her. She has a front row seat to the end of the world. Upon a lightning bolt electrifying Raphaëlle, she briefly sees herself in the thunderstorm with SHADOWJULIUS – only to return to her dream. Lune gets closer. Before shattering the demon girl herself—after six strikes of lightning—Raphaëlle returns to reality permanently. A seventh strike electrifies her. She growls monstrously._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Julius, stop!

_He calls off the lightning – only to watch SHADOWRAPH descend toward the closing circular platform. He swoops down, and catches her before she falls in._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ I got you!

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Th—Thanks. Now help me—

_Her eyes start to drift asleep._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Raphaëlle, wake up!

_He starts pulling, in hopes that the circular platform might open wide enough to bring her up. SHADOWRAPH does not wake up._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Raphaëlle!

_She groans. Rather than widening, the platform closes even further. Their grip becomes loose, and SHADOWRAPH descends back to The Underworld. _

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Raphaëlle!

"_Access granted." The platform opens fully._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Holy shit! Thank you, Shadow.

_SHADOWJULIUS takes a few steps back, and then runs and swan dives into the tunnel to save SHADOWRAPH. The player gets control._

The demon girl was already a far enough distance from SHADOWJULIUS. Hoping the swan dive might bring enough speed, SHADOWJULIUS kept the best diving pose he could to reach her. Throughout their descent into The Underworld, they kept relatively the same distance. The demon boy kept his arms held straight forward, in case he might be able to reach her ankles. Despite his focus being on saving the demon girl, SHADOWJULIUS could not help but feel regret for what he did. He felt like he should have paid closer attention to her reactions. Had he have seen the change in her eyes, he would have called off the lightning sooner. The demon boy was completely worried. He feared both the possibility of death, and of yet another person in a coma. He feared the world he would place himself into, by being the only major character awake. He could not lose the demon girl. He felt it his duty and obligation to save her, and keep her alive. With every bit of strength, he kept his reach forward, and made sure to grip her tight. He predicted the gravity alteration to be beneficial, if they were close enough to one another.

_A cutscene ensues._

_With an alteration in gravity, dormant SHADOWRAPH rotates. SHADOWJULIUS dives as fast as he can, to catch her before she gets further away. Upon him rotating, SHADOWRAPH begins ascending. The demon boy grips her ankles, and ascends toward her. He holds her in his arms, and looks at her. She is still asleep, no matter what he tries or says. He takes her to the City of the Underworld. They go to enter the Garden of Truth, only to find Pontus exiting._

Pontus – Oh! Hello, Julius.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Pontus?

Pontus – Did you come here for me?

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ No. I had no idea you were even awake.

_Pontus chuckles, and walks closer._

Pontus – She must be quite heavy with that armour on.

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ A bit, yeah.

_SHADOWJULIUS lays her aside on the ground. _

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ I think it's time we said _"goodbye"_ to one another.

Pontus – Oh? This wasn't just some charade to let her think she is winning this war?

_SHADOWJULIUS chuckles, and stands directly in front of him. They stare each other in the eyes._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ You know, you're quite puny without any armour.

Pontus – You shouldn't have said that, boy.

_Pontus takes several steps back, and lets multi-elemental dark magic flow through him. SHADOWJULIUS notices one of his arms aimed at SHADOWRAPH. Her armour envelops that same magic. He looks at Pontus, and sees that he is now wearing that same armour._

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ Why do you let that dark magic flow through you? Do you not realize you will lose control over your body, and—

Pontus – —become an enormous, incontrollable rage monster? That's the point, boy. How are you that stupid?

_SHADOWJULIUS watches his enemy's transformation. He gulps. _

_**SHADOW**__**JULIUS**_ So much for being puny.

_The player gets control._

_**BOSS – SHADOWPONTUS  
><strong>__Subject is the King of the Underworld in his ultimate form. Much like is parallel king, the subject wields multiple elements of power – all crafted with dark magic. The subject also wields a Sword of Eden. Vulnerabilities to his attacks depend on the opposing element. Subject's power is at maximum. Under his service spent in the demonic army, prior to becoming ruler, the subject is clearly capable of severely harming just about anyone. The Shadow's Aura is at its incontrollable capacity. Proceed with caution._

SHADOWJULIUS electrified the battleground to begin. The king blasted fire from his hands at his betrayer, who in turn charged black ice that is even more powerful. SHADOWJULIUS hoped to display his strengths to the king. He did not want to be inferior. The demon boy walked toward the king with a fist full of ice. He went to punch the king in the gut, but it melted from the fire. SHADOWPONTUS grabbed SHADOWJULIUS' wrist, but he electrified his former ruler's precious hand. He then electrified the rest of body. For a brief moment, he could see fire in the king's lungs. SHADOWJULIUS went for a mighty ice punch, but the power of Precursor light knocked him back. The king stepped forward, with his Sword pointed at the demon boy's neck. After absorbing the power, SHADOWJULIUS rolled over, and got up. While on his knees, the demon boy heard his enemy marching toward him. He stood up, at just the right moment, and dually elbowed the king in the chest. Pushed back, SHADOWPONTUS grew angry. His betrayer turned around. The king gripped SHADOWJULIUS's neck, with a handful of dark magic, and ran straight toward the nearest building. Glass shards pierced the back of the demon boy's head. Electricity still flowed through him. He grabbed SHADOWPONTUS' wrist, and electrocuted him. Shortly thereafter, he electrically punched his stomach, and sent him backward to another building. As the battle continued, their distance spread apart somewhat. They used the city's buildings as coverage. From alley and street, they attacked. Together, they put the barren city to use with their war. They fought on ground, on the rooftops, and in mid-air.

Each punch, kick, and magic blast from the hand destroyed the city to some degree. Flames and electricity illuminated the place. The demons caused each other harm in every way imaginable. Their strength was destructive. Both of them suffered. They had their differences, and they showed it in violent ways. They both fought to prove the other wrong. They illuminated the other's faults by making them weaker. SHADOWJULIUS gave his enemy an ice punch – which, in turn, shattered part of a building. SHADOWPONTUS absorbed and used his betrayer's electricity – which, in turn, caused some connected buildings to collapse. The goliaths brought their war to the rooftops, once they destroyed enough on ground level. Their weight did nothing beneficial. With quicker collapsing time, the war could not last long on one rooftop. SHADOWJULIUS dodged a strong blast of fire from SHADOWPONTUS, on another rooftop, and then pounced toward the king – with an even stronger attack. Due to the weight from his landing, the demon boy caused the king to ricochet from his backward bash against the side of a building, to his forward bash on the concrete below. SHADOWJULIUS revealed the Tridents of Eden, which he stole from the king's dead wife, and jumped down for an attack. The king expected such an attack, and managed to get out of the way. Their battle returned to the ground for a bit. It also seemed safer. SHADOWJULIUS' power flowed through the Tridents. He made sure to put that strength to use. Further destruction and chaos ensued. Elements of all sorts filled the city once more. Sword and Tridents shattered glass. Body weights knocked structures out of place. Their war was monstrous.

Not a single moment of tranquility went by. Both of them were constantly on their feet, and had to quickly prepare and predict the next attack by the other demon. A blast of fire from the king, and SHADOWJULIUS would have to forge enough ice to endure. Their war raged on through the city until it was destroyed enough to be a called a _"wasteland"_. With their movement swiftly travelling from one side to another, the war even managed to travel into the river. Submerged, the demons fought along the collapsed bridge. They were too blind in their rage to make note of the dead SHADOWGAIA at the bottom of the river nearby. Since their power rested within their bodies and armour, and did little along greater distances, their battle returned to its initial close range. Punches, grabs, and stabs were most effective under the river. Despite the length of their war, the goliaths remained strong. Their strengths were weakening, but they were not significantly weak. Given the range, the usual close range combat still functioned just fine. Ice did not melt, as it would across a larger distance, since the ice made contact at a quick enough rate. Both of them could see that they were no longer at maximum strength. Their armour was damaging, and SHADOWPONTUS was gradually returning to reality. Once he was fully back to normal, the king could see that his betrayer was weaker. The Shadow's Aura controlled the king all that time. With its strength at full capacity, The Shadow's was useful – but that usefulness was weaker. The king still had power of his own to unleash. Unlike SHADOWJULIUS, the king separated the two powers. Once his betrayer would seize enough of The Shadow Aura's power, SHADOWPONTUS would still be able to fight at his own maximum capacity. He let SHADOWJULIUS shatter the king's armour, while doing the same to the demon boy's armour.

In the end, the king would still be able to fight – Julius would not. Their fight continued restlessly throughout the river. SHADOWPONTUS lured the demon boy to the Regal Tunnel. The back-and-forth travel aggravated SHADOWJULIUS tremendously. Both their armours continued to shatter and break throughout the fight in the tunnel. Their elemental attacks illuminated the cylindrical walls. As they approached Deblana, their armours were coming apart even more. SHADOWPONTUS kept his inner joy a secret. After many powerful attacks, and their eventual arrival at Deblana, Julius brought his enemy into the thunderous clouds. Pontus knew this tactic from his wife. He knew to expect the lightning to strike his body – but since he still had all of his strength, he would still be able to absorb and endure. Julius knew the king would not be able to endure forever. He withdrew his Kurai Blade, and used it as a directory of electricity and black ice. Pontus still attacked with full force – though, the lightning gradually weakened him. Julius attacked less, and dodged more. He could not risk dying. Pontus still had his Sword of Eden. The Precursor lightning was still one of the king's tactics. Julius could forge that lightning through his sword as well. Their war escalated to a clashing of electrified blades in the heart of a thunderstorm. Pontus remained the stronger of the two, despite his weakening.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Pontus continues to facially gloat about how much stronger he is. He and Julius continue slashing and clashing with their electrified blades. It is clear that Julius is struggling to survive. Distracted by desire to succeed, Julius fails to feel the pain in his heart. Julius looks down, and notices the Sword of Eden piercing his weakened heart. He also notices a lack of demonic scales. Pontus laughs. _

Pontus – What was that she said? Oh, yes. Sweet dreams… Julius.

_Enraged, Julius electrifies his Kurai Blade with the last of his power, and stabs Pontus through the heart. The moment the tips of the blade reaches the other side, Pontus becomes human._

Julius – Do you… seriously think… I would… let you win?

_The two humans fall from the clouds, and crash on the large circular platform. _

_Blackout._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Je t'aime, aussi. _(I love you, too.)_


	10. SEQUENCE VII: Revision

**SEQUENCE VII: Revision**

_Raphaëlle awakes to the sound of a moving airplane. The right side of her face, particularly on the forehead, is cooler than the rest of her head. She opens her eyes, and finds herself resting against the airplane wall, with a view of one of the sky. She looks around, and sees that her parents and sister are sitting in the row behind her. Nobody sits in Raphaëlle's row. This makes her happy. However, the happiness does not last too long. She feels an odd sensation in her digestive and bladder area. She gets up, and awkwardly walks to the lavatory. The player gets control._

Raphaëlle walked at an angle. Her hands touched every aisle seat. The gurgling and somewhat painful sensation in her stomach increased. Upon reaching the lavatory, the inner feelings were at its worst. Raphaëlle quickly slid her pants and panties down, and sat on the toilet. She groaned in pain, and reached for her multipurpose electronic device. She attempted to read her most recent conversation with her closest friend – but the pain in her body was too much, and her smile quickly vanished. _« Oh mon dieu » ("Oh my god")_, she mumbled every once in a while. She put her device away, and held the base of her stomach. She spent twenty minutes on the toilet – defecating, menstruating, and releasing black serpents from within her body. She could feel a slimy serpent slither from her throat out her mouth. They slithered out all at once: one out her mouth, while the second she defecated, and the third she menstruated. Rather than slithering through a serpent fluid, as they tend to, the latter two followed the appropriate trails – feces and blood, respectively. Once they were out, Raphaëlle's pain drastically decreased. Once she felt like she excreted enough disgusting substances, she wiped herself clean, and stood up. She grabbed the single serpent slithering on the floor, and added him to the mixture her body concocted in the toilet bowl. Before flushing, she gazed at the mess. _"Jeez",_ she muttered. She flushed, put her pants and panties back on, and returned to her airplane seat. She put her legs up, put a pillow in-between her head and the wall, and closed her eyes.

The demon girl entered a laboratory. A pane of glass created the circumference of the main floor. Behind it was an aquarium – filled with sharks, a coral reef, and various smaller fish. Raphaëlle walked toward the glass. She touched it with her left hand. A shark approached, and rubbed its nose against the glass. Raphaëlle giggled. Two more sharks swam over, and rubbed their noses, too. A tunnel to the aquarium opened. The demon girl swam through the water-filled tunnel, and joined the sharks. They surrounded her, and snuggled with her. Raphaëlle had never seen sharks so friendly and cute before. She pet them all, with a big smile on her face. After spending some quality time with the sharks, a sudden earthquake surprised them. Everywhere flashed red, and a robotic voice exclaimed, _"Evacuate immediately"_ repeatedly. Raphaëlle could feel a downward thrust. As she swam back inside, and searched for an exit, she questioned if she should stay. She felt as though the laboratory was a blockage in the tunnel. She flew up to the second floor, and found a series of examined serpents and eels in glass tubes. Computers documented them. She flew up to the third floor, and found a researcher couple injecting a substance into a snow leopard. Raphaëlle walked to them.

_A cutscene ensues._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Hi, what are up to?

_Startled, the researchers stepped back._

George – Hey… demon.

_Raphaëlle smiles._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ I'm Raphaëlle!

George – George.

Kristin – Kristin.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ That is a cool-looking snow leopard!

Kristin – She's actually part scorpion and goat.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Nice!

_Raphaëlle pets the monster._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ She's so friendly and cute!

_The researchers smile. George gives Raphaëlle a brush. Raphaëlle takes it, and brushes the monster. She purrs._

George – Could we examine and experiment with you?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ That would be awesome!

Kristin – Great!

_Jumping ahead, the researchers finish their analysis of the demon girl. They hold an electronic device, which displays an x-ray version of their subject. George takes off his examining glasses._

George – I'm not sure if you know this, but you have these microscopic cells inside of you. Black cells.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Are they dangerous?

George – They might be.

_Kristin takes Raphaëlle's wrist, and extracts a sample from her vein._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Ow.

_George gets a microscope, and connects the display to his computer monitor. Kristin carefully places the sample for the microscope to see. Kristin looks at the black cell through the microscope, while George and Raphaëlle look at the computer monitor. George points at it._

George – Those.

_Raphaëlle is in awe of their demonic shape._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Whoa!

_George smiles, and gently laughs._

George – Based on that reaction, you had no idea of their existence.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ So, what do you know about them?

Kristin – Well, based on our analysis, they have been in your blood stream since you first became a demon.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Oh.

Kristin – Some are bigger than others are. This could be because of digestion or reproduction.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Explain.

George – You have many of them in your body. They've been reproducing and spreading since the beginning. Of course, they are constantly eating the bacteria and such to keep your blood healthy. In addition, based on our projections, the black cells are most common along your chest.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Why?

Kristin – Well, because that's the core location of blood – and if anything malicious gets in there, you're in trouble.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Oh, right.

George – The black cells can actually swim faster through your blood stream than the red cells. That's because they can sense abnormalities very fast, and rush to the approaching possible danger.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ What happens if I die?

Kristin – Well, then, the black cells will savagely devour and extract the abundant danger until they cannot handle it anymore. If there are more bacteria or whatever than black cells, the danger obviously wins.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Could I have more in my body?

George – More?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yeah.

George – Drink more blood.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Really?

George – Yeah.

_Kristin gets Raphaëlle a tall glass of blood._

Kristin – Here. Drink.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Thanks!

_She drinks._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yummy!

_Pause._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ So, how do we know if it works?

_George gets his electronic scanner, and scans Raphaëlle's body. She waits patiently. George nods to acknowledge that there are more black cells in her blood stream._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Are there any side effects if there are too many in my blood?

Kristin - It would be advisable to keep the current amount, and not let any more into your blood stream. Too many black cells can ruin the organs that follow the stream.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ I drink of a lot of blood. I don't think anything happened.

Kristin – The black cells are particular to certain kinds of blood.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Like?

George – Tiger blood, hawk blood, and whale blood. Even rat blood.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Why those?

Kristin – They have a certain substance in their blood, called Umbratonin.

_Raphaëlle looks at them quizzically._

George – It's what quickly produces black cells in the blood.

_Pause._

_Raphaëlle smirks, and takes George's injector. She extracts a sample of her blood from her finger._

George – Why did you do that?

Raphaëlle – Would it be possible to make one bigger?

Kristin – A black cell bigger, you mean?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Yeah.

Kristin – Possibly.

_Kristin takes the sample, and examines it with George. They carefully inject substances into the cell. The black cell grows to the size of a wolf._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Whoa!

_The monster shrieks and yells aggressively. Kristin quickly tones it down with an injection to the neck. The monster approaches Raphaëlle, and sniffs her. She pets the monster, while looking at the time. On cue, she yawns. _

George – If you want, we have a spare bedroom nearby.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ That would be nice, thanks.

_She scratches the monster's demonic fur, and smiles._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Let's go, buddy! You're going to sleep with me tonight!

_The black cell monster roars gently and happily. It follows Raphaëlle to the spare bedroom. The monster jumps on the bed. Raphaëlle giggles, and joins. They go under the blanket._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Curl around me!

_The monster happily does so. They snuggle and purr. _

_Fade to black._

_Birds chirp to Raphaëlle's left. She awakes and groans. Sol shines directly through the window of her Bed & Breakfast bedroom. She feels a certain dampness between her legs. She puts her hand between her legs. A substance touches her fingers. She brings her hand out, from under the blanket, and sniffs._

Raphaëlle – Sucrée. _(Sugary.)_

_She looks around, and listens for silence. Nobody is nearby. She lifts the blanket, and realizes her pyjama bottoms are not on properly. She stands, and pulls them up. She takes one look at the mattress sheet, and sees the dampness. She then gets ready for a day of vacationing._

_Fade to black._

_Raphaëlle arrives near the western perimeter of Deblana. She sees a decrepit, old castle in the hills. The player gets control._

A different scent embodied Raphaëlle's nostrils than the scent of Ville de Marie. The city seemed much more sombre. It was peaceful and calming. Raphaëlle decided to visit the castle that day. The discovery, of what she might find within, intrigued her. She could even feel a presence telling her mind where to go. Raphaëlle and The Shadow already acknowledged each other's existence outside of the dream world, but they were still not functional as a team. Raphaëlle still needed to make progress. She was still human – and only a demon in her dreams. As she continued to approach the castle, the stillness increased. The hills were quiet and vacant. The people of Deblana lived there, and not in the outskirts. The monarchs abandoned the hills, and left the castle to rot. Cobwebs filled in the crevices between each brick, and insects lived at the base of the rotten wood. She wondered how long the place might last. Thoughts of death infested Raphaëlle's mind. She thought about how many had fled the castle, versus how many had died within. She thought about how the monarchs might have died – if by hand or by time. She thought about the motivations and desires, which were so heavily disagreed, that a unanimous assassination or decapitation was the people's final verdict. She thought about how the peoples' lives have changed – from a period of good monarchy, to bad monarchy, to abolished monarchy. These thoughts only evoked themselves because of the status of a single castle. She felt strongly and passionately that the castle had a strong history, which affected people from its establishment to the present. Raphaëlle explored as many interesting parts of the castle as she could. She even discovered an underground passage. She followed it, and wound up in an old prison.

_A cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle enters the Deblana prison. She sees a demonic version of herself in the far back prison cell. Demonic Raphaëlle has the blue aura surround her. Raphaëlle walks toward the cell._

Raphaëlle – Est-ce que j'hallucine? C'est impossible que je fusse ici avant. _(Am I hallucinating? It's impossible that I was here before.)_

_The Shadow speaks through demonic Raphaëlle._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Have you already forgotten your dreams, child?

Raphaëlle – Mes rêves? J'ai rêvé de cet endroit? _(My dreams? I dreamed of this place?)_

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Then, yes, you did forget.

_Pause._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Is none of this familiar to you?

Raphaëlle – Ouais. Je ne me souviens de rien. _(Yeah. I don't remember a thing.)_

_Confused, she turns around. The other prison cells each now contain a blue-glowing demonic Raphaëlle._

Raphaëlle – Ombre? (Shadow?)

_**SHADOWALL**_ What?

Raphaëlle – Tu me donnes une migraine. _(You're giving me a migraine.)_

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Est-ce que je vais fou? _(Am I going insane?)_

Anna – Raphaëlle?

_Raphaëlle blinks a few times, and sees her mother at the entrance of the prison. Raphaëlle looks at all of the cells, and finds them barren._

Raphaëlle – Quoi? _(What?)_

_Anna walks toward her daughter._

Anna – À qui as-tu parlé juste maintenant? _(Who were you talking to just now?)_

_Raphaëlle shakes her head._

Raphaëlle – Personne. _(Nobody.)_

_Raphaëlle walks around Anna to leave the prison. She stops at the arched entrance. She feels a presence behind her – who is not her mother. She turns around, and sees the demonic version of herself. __She speaks calmly, just as before._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Je dois te demander une faveur, je dois aller quelque part, mais je ne peux pas y aller dans ma condition actuelle. Je veux que tu allasses pour moi. Le monde qui nous entoure n'est pas aussi doux que tu pourrais penser. _(__I have to ask__you a favour__: __I have to go somewhere__, __but I can__n__ot go__in my current__condition.__I want you__to go__for me.__The world around__us is not__as mild as__you might think__.)_

Raphaëlle – Pourquoi moi? _(Why me?)_

Anna – Raphaëlle? Viens-tu? _(Raphaëlle? Are you coming?)_

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Prendre mon pouvoir. Si tu veux continuer à explorer, maintenant serait le meilleur moment. _(Take my power. If you want to continue exploring, now would be the best time.)_

_Raphaëlle nods._

Anna – Bonne. _(Good.)_

_Raphaëlle rubs her eyes, and sees Anna instead of demonic Raphaëlle. _

Raphaëlle – Je vais Deblana explorer. _(I'm going to explore Deblana.)_

Anna – Bien. Amuse-toi bien. _(Okay. Have fun.)_

_With everything online, the player gets control._

_"Temple region located. Mapping route for fast travel."_ Raphaëlle roamed along the exterior of the castle. She found every entrance locked. The brainwashed humans still served their rulers. They were so enthralled, in the power of the Apple, that they could not release themselves from it. Raphaëlle lived with a demon inside of her. A demonic version of herself had become a part of her. Together, with The Shadow, they explored Deblana. Their destination was set for the northern hills. Raphaëlle killed the humans that stood in her path. Just as stated in her numerous prophecies, the nightmares merged with reality. Raphaëlle did not expect it to happen so suddenly. She thought there was still time. She was even unsure whether she was presently dreaming. The world around her was different. It frightened her. Even in the mountainous region, she could see a change in reality. Monsters lived on the ground, on the hills, and in the sky. Everything transformed so quickly. Most of the creatures were aggressive, which forced Raphaëlle to fight. Mixes of all sorts—lemur, badger, and hawk; vulture, lizard, and wolf—infested the demonic world. Raphaëlle climbed one of the larger mountains. It was a very steep climb, but, luckily, trees grew on it. She spent most of the ascent jumping from branch to branch. She also killed the monsters along the way. It was practically impossible to reach the summit otherwise. Upon reaching the top, she noticed a murder of crows circulate. Once they noticed her, Raphaëlle fought them. After killing the last one, she checked her map to know where to travel next. It seemed underground, and to the north, was the answer. She activated Demon Vision, and looked around. Part of a nearby tree glowed. Raphaëlle walked over, and pushed the hidden switch. A tunnel opened. _**Deblana North / Séain Ruins South**_. She walked to the hole at the top, and gazed down the tunnel. She dove in, and followed the path. Rather than a linear descent, the tunnel curved northward at the base of the mountain. Monsters even infested the tunnel. Raphaëlle flew underground, killing monsters along the way, until she reached the ascent on the other side. However, there was no exit. Raphaëlle activated Demon Vision, and searched for another switch. Upon finding it, and pushing it, she actually revealed two exits. She instead decided to take the side path, whereby she entered the **Cryo Catacomb**.

_"Wings offline. Diving offline." _The icy catacomb lived within a smaller mountain. Ice monsters swam through the frigid water. Raphaëlle switched to her Kasan Suit – both to keep warm, and to kill the noisome creatures. Together with Submerged Magnetism and Buoyancy, Raphaëlle travelled through the catacomb. She walked through the caverns, and took care of the aggressive beasts. Buoyancy allowed her to jump farther while underwater. She used it to get from one cavern to the next during her ascent. The monsters would hinder her from a safe ascent, and allow her to use her skills to the fullest. Her climb continued even beyond the underwater section. A layer of ice blanketed the water. Raphaëlle needed to reach the climbing structures on the other side. Balconies, and sorts of interior structures, filled the second section. Humans patrolled vicinity. Raphaëlle needed to reach the top. She crossed the ice, and heard the sound of cracking along the way. She needed to be careful, quick, and stealthy. One false move, and there would be no good outcome. Raphaëlle climbed along the ledges, and killed the humans in her path. She travelled upward, whereby she needed to jump across to the ledges on the other side. More humans patrolled. Raphaëlle carefully continued her ascent until she reached the top. She claimed the Crystal Skull in the sarcophagus. _"5/6 found." _An exit opened up above. Wings and Diving returned to her. She flew up to the exterior of the mountain, and looked around. She saw the ruins in the distance further below. The mountain, from which she could have also ascended, was right next to her. She flew to it, and looked around from there. She swore she saw a snow-blanketed volcano among the mountains. She flew to it, and gave it a look. Based on her map, she could only access the interior via an intricate tunnel path. She searched for one end of the path, from which to enter. The route to the entrance involved a few suits. Barriers of all sorts guarded the doors and passageways along the way. Raphaëlle possessed all the necessary equipment. She could have travelled her after acquiring the Inazuma Suit, since lightning was the barrier protecting the final passageway. As expected, monsters lived within the tunnel. In fact, an upgrade for said suit existed on one of the labyrinth's paths. A large monster protected it. After an arduous fight against a snake-grizzly bear-swordfish monster, Raphaëlle acquired the upgrade. _"__**Charge Blast – Lightning **__online". _Raphaëlle flew through the labyrinth until she finally arrived at the **Pyro Catacomb**.

_"Wings offline. Diving offline." _The interior was as expected. Lava filled the base of the inactive volcano. Fiery monsters lived within the caverns – which Raphaëlle had to traverse, in order to ascend. Using the Aisu Suit, Raphaëlle dealt with those monsters accordingly. Upon reaching the topmost cavern, the ground began to rumble. The lava began to boil. Demons patrolled further up. Raphaëlle needed to reach the top before the lava did. Activity once again lived within the volcano. The demon girl jumped across to the nearby ledge, and started climbing. The lava gradually followed. She killed the demons along the way, as she continued her ascent. After completing the arduous climb, Raphaëlle removed the final Crystal Skull from the sarcophagus. "_6/6 found. __**Pontus Suit**__ online." _After escaping the erupting volcano, Raphaëlle learned more about her newly acquired suit. She gained the power to house all of her abilities collectively with dark magic. With a feeling of accomplishment, and the regaining of her flying and swimming abilities, Raphaëlle soared to the ruins. She looked around, but found nothing but monsters within. The ruins, which was once a Temple for Those Who Came Before, was barren. Nothing ancient remained – only the ruined walls, with faint Precursor symbols. Raphaëlle learned that The Shadow built these sorts of constructions. These Precursor sites did not just exist here. They were all over. Raphaëlle questioned The Shadow's reliability. She did not know if she should trust it, or even the demonic version of herself within. She needed answers – and she was so close to the end. At least, SHADOWRAPH was. Raphaëlle still had a moon to stop. She continued exploring the ruins, and found a peculiar pile of snow near Umbra Hall. She melted it.

_A cutscene ensues._

_A familiar demon boy thaws. He has a major stab wound along his heart. He groans, and awakes from consciousness. _

Raphaëlle – J– Julius?

Julius – Raph… You're Raphaëlle, right?

Raphaëlle – Yeah.

Julius – I knew it. I had nightmares about you.

Raphaëlle _**–**_ You don't– remember me from school? You always wrote me poems.

Julius – I only remember a demon who listened to The Shadow.

Raphaëlle – How do you know The Shadow?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ We had our moments. The Shadow will turn against you. Others will receive its power, too.

_Raphaëlle notices the blood wound._

Raphaëlle – You're hurt!

Julius – P—

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Is he dead?

Raphaëlle – Who?

Julius – Pon—

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Is Pontus dead?

Raphaëlle – Who is that?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ He can't hear me! Ask him for me!

Raphaëlle – Is Pontus dead?

_Julius nods. His eyes close._

Raphaëlle – Oh, no!

_She kneels, and feels his pulse. Nothing._

Raphaëlle – Julius? Julius, wake up.

_Silence._

Raphaëlle – Please, Julius! Don't leave me like this! Not now!

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ It's too late. They killed each other. We were lucky enough to say goodbye.

_Dozens of bats envelop his body. Raphaëlle, frightened, jumps back. The player gets control._

The swarm of bats filled Raphaëlle's vision. She withdrew her Kushiro Blade, and began slaughtering them. As she continued slicing and dicing, a clearing began to open. She gradually saw Julius again. The bats were not as annoying as a swarm as when they were spread apart. Once only few remained, Raphaëlle could see that one was larger. She continued killing the normal-sized bats, and saved the larger one for last. Once slaughtered, the bat left a collectible behind. Raphaëlle picked up the bat wing. _"100/100 collected."_ With all of the bats dead, a robotic voice spoke. _"New weapon located. Mapping route for fast travel." _Raphaëlle noticed how close-by she was to that weapon. She walked to Umbra Hall, and found Julius' Kurai Blade hanging on the wall. She took it. _"__**Kurai Blade**__ online."_ She switched to Demon Vision, and searched around the room. She found the switch to descend the central walls. They required all one-hundred large bat Wings. With all of them in her possession, she pushed the switch, and watched the walls descend. She stepped into the empty middle section, and found a pedestal. She inserted her new sword. The bat Wings flourished the hilt. _"__**Shadow Charge Blast – Dark**__ online."_ Raphaëlle took the sword back, and exited the hall. Due to possessing the correct blade, a minor tremor occurred. Raphaëlle looked to her right – next to Julius. The Precursor symbols glowed on the wall of the ruins. That section of the wall opened. Particles disintegrated to forge an arched passageway. _"New passage discovered." _Raphaëlle found a platform on which to stand. She made her diagonal descent, by use of the _**Séain Temple / Garden of Truth**_ tunnel. The walls all around her glowed Precursor symbols, too – and a hologram of Juno's head appeared. She spoke not to Raphaëlle, but the people whom she knew would listen. In the case of the Assassins, she spoke to the Initiate.

_**JUNO **_ My instrument… Here you are, at last! I am sure this adventure taught you many new things. I am also sure it brought about many questions. I thank you for listening, and accepting my wish of finding this place. We built Temples all over the globe. When we first learned of the approaching end, we took to the underground. Desmond, the one saved people like you from its second coming, found our central Temple on land. We knew many of our people would not survive, so we constructed a parallel under the earth. In the fiery depths of hell, we lived. We would not die from the heat, like the weaker humans. We hoped a place under the earth might give us more time than the others had. We needed that time to stop our planet from falling to ruin – but it did not work. We failed, and many of our kind died. Yours too, of course.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ Juno.

_Juno speaks to Raphaëlle._

_**JUNO **_ I need you.

Raphaëlle – What for?

_**JUNO **_ Act as my—


	11. Assassins 3

_A cutscene ensues._

_An error in the Animus forces The Initiate out. The first thing [they] hear is Shaun shouting at his computer screen._

Shaun – Your what? Act as your what?

William – What's going on?

Shaun – I have no idea.

Rebecca – Hang on.

_Rebecca analyzes the last portion of the Sequence frame by frame. She pauses at the very end, and zooms in._

Rebecca – Look!

_Shaun and Rebecca get closer to her computer screen._

Rebecca – The base of the tunnel needs an Apple of Eden.

Shaun – Poor Raphaëlle is fresh out.

Rebecca – Well, Abstergo made Raphaëlle's video game story out of their own resources, right?

Shaun – Right.

William – See what you can do, and fast. I'm sure the Templars are looking for us.

_William looks off to the distance._

William – Well, son. Looks like you're still important.

Shaun – What did you say?

_William turns back._

William – Oh, nothing.

William (to The Initiate) – You've been in the Animus for a long time. Now might be a good time to do any remaining snooping before we finish the job.

_The Initiate gets control._


	12. SEQUENCE VIII: Existence

**SEQUENCE VIII: Existence**

_A cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle inserts Desmond's Apple of Eden into the round slot._

_**JUNO **_ Act as my vessel.

Raphaëlle – Your vessel? I already am a vessel!

_**JUNO **_ I am aware of that.

_The wall, at the end of the tunnel, descends into the ground. Raphaëlle walks through the complete darkness. The Apple in her hand illuminates the Temple. Juno's hologram disappears. She only speaks. Raphaëlle sees dead people at either side._

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ All those people.

Raphaëlle – What?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ The memories.

Raphaëlle – What memories?

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ The notebook.

_Raphaëlle arrives at the end of the Temple, and finds the same version of herself as in the underground Deblana prison._

_**JUNO **_ There is this saying: _"Light and shadow are two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other."_

Raphaëlle – Okay, and?

_**JUNO **_ I must be with him.

Raphaëlle – You already existed, though. Why must you exist again?

_The Raphaëlle in the prison cell breaks free unwillingly._

_**JUNO **_ If you do not understand—if you will not understand—then, I force your hand.

_**SHADOW**__**RAPH**_ What are you doing?

Raphaëlle – You want me to kill… myself?

_From the Apple, a jolt of Precursor lightning electrifies the second Raphaëlle. Various powers fill her powers. A parallel to the Pontus Suit. The Apple of Eden disintegrates._

_**JUNO **_ Prove it to me. Make the other inexistent.

_EDENRAPH steps forward, and withdraws a Sword of Eden. The player gets control._

_**FINAL BOSS – EDENRAPH  
><strong>__Subject is the parallel to SHADOWRAPH. Rather than her powers created by dark magic, the subject's powers are made of light. The subject's mind is corrupt, and controlled by Juno. The subject's actions derive from SHADOWRAPH's actions – albeit, based on light magic. Subject is capable of dealing as much damage as her parallel. The subject's strength matches SHADOWRAPH's strength. Proceed with caution._

By holding the Kurai Blade, Raphaëlle learned that she could duel wield – just the same as she could with Kushiro and Rhesus. With two mighty blades in her hand, the demon girl began the fight. The battle began with the clashing of blades. Raphaëlle stood the weaker of the two, due to her primary vulnerability of lightning and electricity. EDENRAPH switched to her Kasan Suit. Raphaëlle switched to her Aisu Suit. She knew to be cautious. If fire were strongest, she would not do well. As a result, both attacked with as much strength as they could muster. Their hands connected. They had rather small results. Raphaëlle kept a strong grip, but managed to kick EDENRAPH quite hard in the stomach. She created a weak spot. EDENRAPH stepped back, held her stomach, and groaned a little. Raphaëlle grabbed her parallel by the neck, endured the heat, and began freezing EDENRAPH there. After receiving much pain, EDENRAPH gave distracted Raphaëlle a mighty punch, and sent her far back. EDENRAPH adjusted to the changes, and switched to her Aisu Suit. Raphaëlle, after a brief recovery, switched to her Kasan Suit. She charged straight toward her parallel, and approached with a fiery punch. EDENRAPH grabbed Raphaëlle's fist and wrist with both hands, and cooled the fire. Raphaëlle went to kick her parallel in the stomach, both of them knowing to expect it. Foolish EDENRAPH went for the knee, but wound up getting a fiery punch to the cheek and neck. The moment Raphaëlle's right fist made contact with her parallel's neck, Raphaëlle went flying back – due to a switch to the Inazuma Suit. Upon landing on the ground, Raphaëlle did the same.

Both stood and fought one another. Two bodies of electricity clashed. Though they both fought each other in combat, EDENRAPH could also fight with her Sword of Eden. Raphaëlle's desire was to absorb as much electricity as possible, and overpower her parallel. EDENRAPH did not choose the same, luckily. Raphaëlle endured every thrust of power from EDENRAPH, and stole it. The electricity and Precursor lightning filled Raphaëlle's body. They fought their hardest, but Raphaëlle's tactic was superior. After collecting enough electricity, and gaining several cuts, the demon girl grabbed EDENRAPH by the wrist, and overflowed her body with all of the collected power. EDENRAPH's Inazuma Suit disabled. Raphaëlle switched to her Rhesus and Kushiro dual blade combination, and returned to the initial sword fight. They cut and stabbed each other tremendously. Raphaëlle's Rhesus Blade absorbed EDENRAPH's blood, and the same on EDENRAPH's end. Both were getting weaker. Their strength gradually declined. Their elemental battle continued until both were dry. They fought as entities of light and shadow – once they could no longer possess fire, ice, or electricity. Raphaëlle switched to her Pontus Suit, which she could use with the Kurai Blade. EDENRAPH returned to her Sword of Eden, and fought as the entity of light that Juno made her to be. Raphaëlle did not see a person in EDENRAPH. She was just a creation. An entity. However, then, what was the SHADOWRAPH power inside of her. Was the Raphaëlle voice inside of her an entity, too – or did this second Raphaëlle exist as well? Distracted by questions, EDENRAPH was able to weaken Raphaëlle further. Once the demon girl came back to reality, via the pain, she fought back. Ultimate powers of dark magic-fueled elements enriched Raphaëlle's body and new sword. Since she possessed more power in the Pontus Suit, Raphaëlle was the stronger of the two. SHADOWRAPH, within, recalled Pontus' gift to SHADOWJULIUS – which Cú Roí instead bestowed to her. She delivered the same amount of pain to EDENRAPH. Her Sword was slightly underpowered.

_An interactive cutscene ensues._

_Raphaëlle's Kurai Blade clashes with EDENRAPH's Sword of Eden. Their mighty game of fencing concludes. Raphaëlle manages to find an opening, and electrically stabs EDENRAPH through the heart. _

Raphaëlle – There, Juno. No more light for you.

_With her last breath, EDENRAPH does the same to Raphaëlle with her Sword of Eden. They both take a few steps back. Juno then telepathically disables Raphaëlle from utilizing her Rhesus Blade to heal._

_**JUNO **_ Is that so?

_Raphaëlle turns to the left, and sees a full hologram of Juno at the exit of the Temple. She goes there, with her left hand on her heart. Player interaction ensues. The cutscene resumes upon reaching the exit. _

Raphaëlle (internal soliloquy) – Pendant que je marchais à ma mort, une mémoire revigorait mon esprit. J'ai pensé de la première fois que j'ai rencontré mon ami squelette. Michel avait un squelette sur l'affichage. J'ai pris un long regard sur ce squelette et a remarqué nos similarités. Comment étrange qu'un squelette eût du sang autour de ses yeux – comme moi. Après nos premiers jours de rencontre—après quelques jours avaient passé—j'avais des rêves d'un vivant et respirant garçon. Le garçon, environ le même âge que moi, se sentait comme c'était le même que mon ami squelette. Ils avaient même le même nom. Le squelette est devenu mon meilleur ami dans la réalité et le garçon dans mes rêves. Finalement, comme les années passaient, la réalité que L'Ombre me guidait à lui. Le garçon dans la réalité. _(As I walked to my death, a memory invigorated my mind. I thought about the first time I met my skeleton friend. Michel had a skeleton on display. I took a long look at that skeleton, and noticed how similar we were. How strange that a skeleton had blood around its eyes – like me. After our first encounter—after days had passed—I had dreams about a living, breathing boy. The boy, about the same age as me, felt the same as my skeleton friend. They even had the same name. The skeleton became my best friend in reality, and the boy in my dreams. Eventually, as time went on, it turned out that The Shadow was guiding me to him. The boy in reality.)_

_**JUNO **_ Don't worry. We'll meet again soon.

Raphaëlle – Why… me?

_She falls to her knees at the exit. The perspective changes to first-person._

Raphaëlle (internal soliloquy) – Pendant que mes genoux ont frappé le sol, j'ai pensé à mon meilleur ami. Il m'a montré la même passion que Julius m'a montré. De tous les gens que je voulais voir le plus, pour la dernière fois, c'était lui._(Upon my knees hitting the ground, I thought about my best friend. He showed me the same passion that Julius did. Of all of the people I wanted to see the most, for the last time, it was him.)_

_Raphaëlle collapses next to SHADOWRAPH. She rests where SHADOWJULIUS left her. _

Raphaëlle (internal soliloquy) –J'ai regardé dans ses yeux, et imaginé que je regarde à lui – mais je pouvais seulement voir moi-même. _(I stared into her eyes, and imagined that I was looking at him – but I could only see me.)_

_Blackout._


	13. Assassins (Credits)

_As the credits roll, The Initiate joins the Assassin Brotherhood in their departure. They hastily leave the Temple, with new information in their possession._

William – Good job, Initiate. Welcome to the Brotherhood.

_Shaun gives The Initiate the keys._

Shaun – Here: you drive!

_They get in the van, and drive._

Rebecca – That was such a bizarre story!

Shaun – Yes, well, from the information we gained—both from this Temple, and from Raphaëlle's adventure—I'd say our preparations for Juno's return are improving.

Rebecca – So, where are we going now?

_William hands Rebecca a clipboard._

William – Here.

Rebecca – Awesome! I've always wanted to there!

Shaun – Really? You always wanted to go there of all places?

Rebecca – Shut up, Shaun.

Shaun – Yeah, yeah.

_The drive continues until the credits finish rolling._


	14. EPILOGUE

**EPILOGUE**

_Defibrillator sounds awake Raphaëlle. _

Doctor #1 – Clear!

Doctor #2 – She's coming back! I have a pulse!

Doctor #1 – Her eyes are opening!

_Fade from black. Raphaëlle looks around. _

Raphaëlle – …Quoi? _(…What?)_

Doctor #2 – Hey! Welcome home!

Raphaëlle – What do you mean?

Doctor #2 – You've been in a coma for nearly a month. A lucky day for you, huh?

Raphaëlle – What happened?

Doctor #2 – Forget it. We'll talk about it later. It's your birthday after all.

Raphaëlle – Oh mon dieu. _(Oh my god.)_

_The doctors laugh. Raphaëlle looks to her right, and sees a shadow of her demonic self on the distant wall. She then notices her black notebook on the table, and the Kushiro and Kurai Blades leaning against it._

_Blackout._

FIN


End file.
